Turning Back The Clock
by Unknown Cricket
Summary: Hermione finds herself in a miserable relationship with Ron, but she can't get out. So what happens when an accident at work sends her back six years. Will she take this opportunity to create the life she wanted instead? Draco/Hermione
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone and welcome to my latest story!**

**Just a few things before we begin ok? **

**I would like to start by reminding everyone that I own nothing, J.K Rowling is the amazing woman who created the Harry Potter world, I am not trying to claim any of it for myself.**

**Secondly, this chapter isn't exactly my favorite. I will warn you before you read it. It is choppy, shaky, slightly out of character and uncomfortable. Believe me, I'm not to fond of it either but hopefully within the next few chapters that will slip away. It will get better as we get into the plot, I promise. This is just setting up everything that is to come. **

**I will be rating this story M, just in case because we know how those teenager wizards can get.**

**Enjoy the story guys! Hopefully this is a journey that you will join me on.**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter One : Boom.  
**

* * *

There's a point in your life when you look back and begin to wonder where the years went. You begin to wonder to yourself if you always made the right choices. There's even that little voice in your head that often nags you with those bothersome 'what if' questions that you wish you could forget about. Growing up you listened to fairy tales about how perfect life would be when you got older. You would marry your prince charming and live happily ever after. But eventually you grow older, and things aren't as you would have imagined them. You marry a man you thought would be your prince charming, but you find yourself in just another miserable marriage, with little or no excitement for the future. And then it reaches the point where all you have left is those little 'what if' questions that you wish to forget about, because you can't bare to let go of the good days, when life actually seemed worth while.

These were the realizations of Hermione Weasley as she pulled herself out of bed. Anyone who had known Hermione as a teenager would be completely shocked that the woman would have such thoughts running through her mind. She had always been such a logical, and positive woman. But as the years went by, she changed with her life. Back then she had expected a wonderful life, but now she had long given up on any hope for that fairy tale romance or happily ever after.

Of course by now you would be wondering what happened right? Well you know where the story left off. Voldemort had been vanquished and now everyone was free to live their lives. Hermione and Ron continued to date, despite the many problems they had had during the ending months of the war. They both decided that everything that had gone wrong had just been because of the stress of the war. It was logical reasoning, wasn't it? And Ron was her best friend, so why shouldn't she give him the benefit of the doubt? Well things were perfect. They stopped fighting for a while, Ron even occasionally showed his romantic side every once in a while. He made her feel like the princess she had always imagined being as a young girl and so how could she resist?

Six months after the war he proposed. She was having the most amazing time of her life, he seemed so genuine and she was so certain and hopeful that the near perfect fairy tale romance they had going would last forever. Another six months later and they were married. That's where things started to go wrong. It started slowly. He stopped being as charming, they began bickering again and then eventually he seemed to lose interest all together. He became annoyingly possessive to the point where she couldn't even talk to Harry on a regular basis as she had before. Soon enough the fighting got out of hand, nothing she did was ever good enough for him and it seemed as though she had to constantly walk on egg shells just to get by. Eventually she started wondering if he was having an affair, and sure enough he was. But when she consulted him about it, he made it seem like it was all her fault. Like she wasn't enough to keep his interest, so how was that his problem and he made it work, too. Hermione was a smart girl but self esteem had never been her strong point and he used that to his advantage.

Now they were five years into a dead marriage, Hermione was a shell of a woman and didn't know who to turn to. She had neglected all of the other people in her life, she pushed them away, to keep her husband happy and now she found herself alone. She stopped talking to Harry, Ginny, Luna, Neville, and even her parents and what for? At this point it seemed as though she had given them all up for nothing. She had dug herself into a big hole and she didn't know how to get out of it. So maybe it was a lost cause. Maybe she was doomed to be miserable for the rest of her life. Maybe she was doomed to listen to her husband flirting with other girls at the office, or doomed to waiting up until he came home from another 'night out' with his latest skank. Yes, that was Hermione's life now and she knew she was going to have to live with it, whether she liked it or not.

The young woman now found herself staring into the mirror of her bathroom. She didn't look like any normal twenty-four year old girl. Her face looked more worn out, her hair was a mess, her face looked pale and there were huge bags under her eyes from the many nights she had stayed awake crying, unable to sleep because of the piercing pain that had lodged itself into her chest. What a life indeed.

"Hermione are you ready yet or not?" A voice snapped from somewhere on the floor beneath her.

"Yes, dear." the woman croaked as she looked away from the mirror in shame, "I'll be right down."

And with one last sigh she left the washroom.

Within moments she reached the foot of the staircase to see her husband standing there. Although she knew it was Ron standing in front of her, she could hardly recognize him anymore. The kind and loving nature had drained itself from his face. There was no more humor in his eyes and his voice had become cold. But it was only like this with her. It was as though she were some kind of burden to him, as though she was the only thing keeping him down in life. This was something she couldn't even begin to understand because she tried to make him happy. She did everything in her power to make things between them work. She gave up everything and everyone that she had ever had, just to make him happy, but he never gave anything in return. When had his heart grown so cold?

"Are you ready yet?" He snapped as his eyes moved over to his wife. "I told Kingsley I would be there ten minutes ago."

"Yes, Ronald. Lets go." Hermione said in her now usual quiet voice.

In a moment faster than any muggle could comprehend, they now stood in a completely different building.

"Welcome, to the Ministry of Magic." the usual voice welcomed them as they began walking into the sea of wizards that had also begun arriving.

"I'll meet you back here at five to go home. And don't be late." Ron warned her in a threatening voice.

The girl just nodded as her husbands eyes glared right through her. As sad as it had become, work was her escape from everything. But she didn't have the job she wanted. In her Hogwarts years she had always wanted to be a Healer or an Auror, either profession would have been perfect in her opinion but Ron wouldn't see to it. He didn't want her having a job better than his, so she was demoted to the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, as part of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, which wasn't the most exciting job in the world. But she had to be grateful to a point, it was the only time she was able to escape Ron or the prison that he loved to call their "home".

Hermione hurried off to the third floor of the ministry, and through the doors. This was her sanctuary. Again, how sad was that? A person was supposed to dread going to work, and love going home to where their loved ones would be waiting. Hermione wasn't lucky enough to be gifted with such a life. Most nights she was kept awake, wondering what she had ever done to deserve a life such as the one she was currently living.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Weasley." the secretary for their office greeted her as she walked through the door.

"Good morning, Pam. What do you have for us today?" She asked.

"Bert is on run, so it'll just be you on Magical Repair today. It appears as though it's going to be a slow day though, the only things that have been brought in are a toaster, a weed wacker and a clock. But that should keep you busy until lunch, after that there could be more in. If not then it looks like you'll be lucky enough to get the afternoon off." The woman said with a warm smile. Yep, that would be so lucky.

"Alright, well thank you, Pam." Hermione said, took the paper work from Pam and walked into her office where three magically sealed boxes were stacked.

"Okay, lets get to work." The woman muttered to herself.

The morning was going to fast for Hermione's liking. She tried to take her time at her work but she couldn't put it off long enough. No matter how slow she wished to be, after two hours she had finished with the toaster and the weed whacker, and she doubted the clock was going to take to long. She didn't want to go home but if Ron caught wind of her being excused early from work, and not coming home, that wouldn't end so smoothly for her.

"Okay well what's wrong with you." The woman asked, ask she looked over at the final magically sealed box.

Hermione grabbed the report and let her eyes skim through it. Apparently some young five year old wizard-to-be had thrown a tantrum and ever since the clock had been acting funny. It started by shocking people who walked by and after it started flooding their house, the young boys parents had no choice but to send it into be repaired.

"Alright well lets see what we can do." Hermione mumbled as she opened the box. Talking to herself had become a bad habit. Perhaps it was because she was so lonely these days.

The young witch continued with her slow pace, she wasn't in any sort of rush to get out of the office. And it wasn't as though the boss could complain about her being slow. Magic Reversal was a very complex subject and if done wrongly, it could result in a life or death matter. So slowly, the woman circled her wand around the clock, but she was soon interrupted by a knocking sound on her window. She looked over to see Pig sitting in the window, holding what appeared to be a howler.

"Oh great, what now?" The woman groaned and got up from her desk to let the owl in.

It didn't take the letter long to combust after she untied it from the owls leg.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU. I THOUGHT WE AGREED THAT YOU WOULDN'T BE SPEAKING TO OTHER MEN!" The howler began to scald her, using Ron's voice. "HOW FUCKING STUPID ARE YOU HERMIONE? I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T WANT YOU TALKING TO OTHER MEN, SO WHY HAS A LETTER FROM HARRY JUST ARRIVED. I DON'T GIVE A DAMN IF HE'S THE BOY WHO LIVED OR OUR SAVIOR, I DON'T CARE, HE'S STILL A GUY. I TOLD YOU NOT TO FUCKING TALK TO HIM. WHEN YOU GET HOME YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET DISOBEYING ME. I SWEAR TO MERLIN THAT YOU WILL YOU STUPID TRAMP." The letter then burst into flames, leaving Hermione standing there wide eyed and speechless.

Although he had treated her unfairly over the years, he had never quite taken it that far before and she had never felt the same fear that she was now feeling. The young woman sank into her seat, her eyes were now filling with tears. What was she going to do? How had she gotten herself into such a mess? A weird ticking noise from the clock on her desk brought her back to reality. In her head she found herself wishing that she could just start over and change everything, but she knew that she had to get back to work. Weather she liked it or not she had to face reality head on. The woman moved her wand a little more forcefully over the clock, trying to keep the letter out of her mind but it just wouldn't leave her be.

Her mind started drifting away from her work and her lack of attention caused her not the notice the clock begin to shake and change color.

"Everything will work out." She tried telling herself, but the anxious feeling refused to subside. "Maybe he will calm do-"

BOOOM!

* * *

**Small cliff hanger! I know, I'm sorry, but what better way is there to begin a story?**

**I would like to encourage you to review. Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like. What did you think of the new Ron? Anything at all.**

**But keep in mind I only want to be writing if people are going to be reading, so if you want me to keep posting, let me know in the review!**

**If I get reviews I'll try to have the next chapter up within the next few days.**

**Goodbye for now!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors note: I would like to remind you that I own nothing. J.K Rowling is the amazing mastermind behind the creation of Harry Potter.**

**Thank you to those who reviewed! I'm sorry if it seemed as though I was "holding chapters for hostage!" I just want to make sure that I'm actually writing this for someone to read.**

**This chapter's a tad bit choppy, too, I'm still not feeling it so much in the beginning but I am more towards the end. I actually love the end of this chapter.**

**Hope you like it!**

**

* * *

Chapter Two: Testing Gravity.  
**

* * *

Hermione's eyes suddenly shot open. For a few brief seconds it felt as though her whole body was going into shock. For some bizarre reason she felt as though a million electric currents were soaring through her body. For another moment after that she couldn't even move, her whole body trembled but she couldn't do anything about it. It felt as though she was frozen and no matter how hard she tried to force her body, she couldn't move. The minute ticked on slowly but soon these effects wore off and there she lay, panting for breath.

What had just happened? She had never experienced anything like that in her life. Had Ron done something to her? Was this some new punishment for her pathetic existence? Was this a punishment for owling Harry behind his back. She knew she should have been a bit more careful, but she never thought that he would actually find out about it. That's when everything hit her suddenly. It couldn't have been a punishment because she couldn't even remember going home. All she could remember was getting the letter, and she kept working. But that would mean... that she never went home. Where the hell was she?

The girl shot up and looked around the room. It was a room that she knew very well, but what the hell was she doing in it? The young woman's heart pounded furiously in her chest and she took in the surroundings of what used to be her dorm room during her Hogwarts days. Why on Earth would she be at Hogwarts? Hogwarts of all places. This was completely illogical. Was there something that she couldn't remember about what had happened before... well before she woke up? Did something strange happen that would cause her to be where she was now? If anything had happened she was sure that she would remember it.. Was this what those girls felt like when they woke up the night after drinking? She didn't even drink so that couldn't be it... Right?

The girl let out a small cry and got out of the bed. She began pacing around the room, but that only made things worse. As she paced around, trying to figure out what was going on, she began to observe her surroundings a little more and she didn't like what she saw. Her things! Her things were there, placed just as they had been during her Hogwarts days. This couldn't be happening! She knew that she wasn't in Hogwarts anymore! She had graduated after the war, she had started her own life with Ron. It wasn't a pleasant life but she _knew_ that it did exist!

"This can't be happening!" the girl felt herself begin to hyperventilate.

There was an overwhelming feeling taking over her body. It was something similar to what would take place before every exam she ever took. But this was pure panic. She had no idea what was going on, so she had a right to be scared, didn't she? Nothing like this had ever happened to her. She always kept good track of herself. She never had any wild nights and not remember what happened the morning before. She wasn't sure how people could live like this, to her this wasn't a pleasant feeling at all. She felt as though she were going to have a heart attack or something, it was just to much for her.

"Okay calm down for a second, Hermione." she began whispering to herself. Again with the talking to herself.

The girl sat on her old bed and began to think. Okay, what had happened after she got the letter? Her mind began to force it's way back to those unpleasant moments after she got the howler from her husband. She could recall being upset, she remembered sitting back down and started trying to fix the clock again... She tried to ignore her feelings about the letter but it wasn't working. So she stopped right? Hermione would never continue trying to use magic if she were so emotionally out of it... would she? But her memory went against her, she did keep trying but her feelings distracted her.. She stopped paying attention to what was going on with her magic and then...

"Oh god I'm so stupid." Hermione whispered and covered her face with her hands, finally remembering what had happened.

So why had happened? Was she dead? She was pretty sure that if she had died, she wouldn't be back in her Hogwarts dorm room, so she ruled that one out. Had she knocked herself out? It was a possibility but she doubted it just as much as being dead. The girl stood up again and paced the room, trying to think of other explanations. The calender on the wall then caught her eye, it was opened up to October, 1997.

"Oh shit..." the now younger woman whispered as she realized exactly what had happened.

She had just woken up seven years ago.

* * *

It took a while for her to get over the shock. By the time she started to come around at all it was nearing noon, and as much as she didn't want to leave the dormitory, her stomach was beginning to protest the lack of food in her system. You would think that because of all the time she had spent using the time turner, that this would be something easy for Hermione Granger but it wasn't. How easy was it supposed to be for her to accept that she had to repeat the past seven years of her life? Maybe anyone else would have been excited about it. The ability to be a teenager again, to have no care in the world, it should be exciting. But the last seven years of her life hadn't exactly been a party for her. She had to live through them once, why would she want to do it a second time?

But that was when it hit her. Did she really have to live it over a second time? Maybe this was some kind of blessing. She was miserable with Ron, so who was to say that she had to choose the same path this time? Sure, she wasn't sure what other path to take but who else was going to know? Who was going to be there to point her in the same direction? To everyone else yesterday it had still been 1997, right? This meant she was free, she could do whatever she wanted and Ron wasn't going to control her anymore. This was the answer to every prayer she had made over the past five years.

At these realizations the girl began to cry. You would think that she would break out a huge smile and do some kind of dance like she just won the muggle lottery. But she didn't, she cried her heart out, she cried like she had never cried before. All of the problems with her marriage and her life had built up. They left a huge weight on her chest and every day it got heavier and heavier. Knowing that she would never have to go back to that, knowing that she could make things different completely relieved her of this weight, it was the most amazing feeling in the world and because of that, all she could do was cry.

Hermione spent a good ten minutes letting all of this emotion out, and then for the first time in five years she got ready, with a smile on her face and then exited her dormitory to go down to lunch.

The whole thing was surreal. Everything was exactly the same as it had been. She greeted a few of her old classmates as she made her way through the common room. Obviously this was going to take some getting used to.

"Hermione!" a voice called out as she walked down the corridor, heading for the Great Hall.

Hermione turned around to look for the source of the voice and she quickly spotted Harry heading her way. Before she could think of how she should react, the girl hurried over to him and pulled him into a big hug. This would obviously seem weird to him but in Hermione's world she hadn't been allowed to speak to him in about three years. He had been her best friend since she was eleven so she had missed him terribly over that period of time, this was the first time she had seen him in so long, even though he had only seen her yesterday in his world, so she couldn't help but giving him the biggest hug she could muster.

"Wow, you're in a good mood today." the boy chuckled, returning the hug from his friend. "Where have you been all morning, Ron and I were looking all over for you."

Her stomach shrank slightly at the mention of Ron but she brushed him off, she didn't have to deal with that just yet.

"Oh, uh, I was in my room studying all morning, sorry. I got a bit carried away and before I knew it, it was already noon." she said with a nervous chuckle, not wanting to tell the boy the truth. He would probably think she was going mad or something.

"I figured as much." the boy said with a small nod, and then gestured for them to continue walking again.

They walked in silence for a few short moments, but it was a very comfortable silence. Soon they arrived in the Great Hall and moved their way over to the Gryffindor table where a few of their friends were seated. This time she resisted throwing herself on any of them but it took quite a bit of effort.

"Good afternoon, Ginny, Neville, Dean, Seamus." the girl greeted, making sure to individualize each of them, unable to take the big grin off her face.

Her greetings were returned with a mixture of "hello"s and "hi"s.

For the first time in a long time the girl sat down and had lunch with her friends. They shared many laughs and Hermione just couldn't get enough of it. She had been so deprived for so long and she felt the need to just take in as much as she could. But it didn't last forever.

"Bloody Snape." Ron interrupted a conversation about Umbridge, as he sat down with a sour look on his face.

Hermione shifted uncomfortably at the presence of the red headed boy. She knew that he wasn't going to act the same as he did before she got sent back, but still, just knowing what he was going to turn out to be made her feel uncomfortable. It was hard to just put it behind her like it was nothing, because he had damaged her in a lot of ways, not physically but she felt scared inside. But she couldn't blame him right, because it hadn't actually happened yet... And she knew that the boy in front of her wasn't the same man that had treated her so poorly for five years of her life.

"Detention wasn't so fun?" Harry asked as he snacked on a few grapes.

"It was completely rubbish, made clean out and re-bottle those things of his..." Ron said with a shudder.

Hermione couldn't help but feel the urge to snicker at the thought of the many bottled organs and small creatures that Snape had collected. Even though they were still supposed to be friends, she couldn't bring herself to actually feel sorry for the boy.

"That sucks, mate." Dean said and pushed his plate away a bit, obviously not liking the turn that their conversation had made.

As much as Hermione wanted to spend time with her friends, it was just to soon for her to be around Ron. He wasn't the same cruel man but that was only a few years away. It was hard to push those memories out of her mind. She couldn't just jump right back into 1997 and forget about everything that had happened. She knew she would have to but it was to soon, she just needed some time away from him to let her scars heal, some time to forgive him for everything that he had done.

"I'm sorry..." Hermione's voice trailed off a bit for a moment. "I have to go study you guys." she made a quick excuse and hurried off.

The girl sped off as fast as she could without it looking suspicious. As she exited the hall she could feel tears burning her eyes. It was so hard to see him again. After everything he had put her through, and she couldn't even tell him about it, she could never get any kind of closure. It sucked but at least she could move on.

All of the thoughts running through her mind caused her to pay very little attention to where she was going. Suddenly she felt one of her feet catch the other and she began to fall, and it appeared as though she were going to fall into someone. Luckily for her the person in question caught her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, thanks." the girl mumbled without looking at the person.

"Next time you fall, you might want to watch out, Granger. You would have taken us both out." the familiar voice of Malfoy penetrated her mind.

Hermione's cheeks flushed a bit as she stepped away from him. "I wasn't falling..." the girl said in a slightly defensive voice. "I was... I was testing gravity. Guess what. It works." the girl said a bit stupidly and hurried away before he could make any remark about it. The last sound she heard though was his voice chuckling after her. This time, unlike all of the others, it sounded as though he wasn't so much laughing at his, as laughing at what she said. But she must have been mistake, it was Malfoy after all.

* * *

**So what did you guys think? **

**I'm not going to rush into their relationship, but I thought the little run in would be interesting.**

**I'll try not to focus it to much on the Ron thing, but it was a hard point in her life and it will take her a while to heal from it. **

**So what did you guys think? Let me know =] I always love input from my readers!**

**Please review! **

**I'll try to have the next chapter up within the next few days.**

**Have a great day!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note : Again, J.K Rowling is the amazing mind behind Harry Potter. I own nothing from the Harry Potter books.**

**I was so thrilled by the response I got to my previous chapter, so I decided to update sooner than I had planned to!**

**I'm sorry if things are going a bit slow, I know there hasn't been any Draco/Hermione going on, but things will start happening soon, I promise!**

**Enjoy the chapter =]**

**

* * *

Chapter Three : Sick Romantics.  
**

* * *

A week had passed since Hermione had found herself thrown back through time and it would be a lie to say that it was an easy transition for her. Of course, she was enjoying herself so much better now that she was away from the Ron that she had left in the future, but the memories of him still haunted her every night in her dreams. She still woke up crying, choking back a scream so that she wouldn't wake up her dorm mates. The few mornings following the first were just as confusing, but the panic subsided a bit faster as the relief sank in. After a few days she had just begun telling herself that it had all been a dream, that she was never with Ron and he would never treat her like that. It ended up being a lot easier than accepting the truth so she went with it.

As the days passed it was getting easier to forget his face, his vacant expression and his cold eyes. Hermione still had trouble being around Ron but she put up with it. What else was she to do? She couldn't just ignore her friends, that hadn't ended so well last time, and he always seemed to be with them. When it got to be to much she would just make an excuse to study and run off. This was completely in character so of course they never suspected a thing, at least she hoped not anyway. How was she to explain why she couldn't be around them for a second longer? How was she supposed to tell them that she was afraid of Ron because they had been married for five years and he made sure that every day of it was to be the most miserable day of her life. How on earth was she supposed to tell them that a bewitched clock sent her back to her sixth year at Hogwarts, when really she was supposed to be a twenty-four year old woman? They would think that she was barking mad.

But every time she made the excuse to run off, she actually went and did just that. Of course her friends would expect her to study the things they were learning in school, but she had already done them once and she knew that she could pass with flying colors. This would seem unlike Hermione, she knew there was always room for improvement in the grades she had gotten, but there was something more important on her mind that needed the attention. She started checking out books on time travel. She had known about time turners for the longest time but were their actually other kinds? It was odd that she had never heard of other kinds before so she had to figure it out. Could she really be the first time traveler, besides the people who had used time turners? Was there any chance of her randomly being thrown back to where she had left off? Were there any side effects?

Any normal person would let these things slip of course, but not her. She was more than the average person, she always had been. There was nothing normal about her current situation. It was jut to good to be true, she didn't have that kind of luck anymore. Not that she really had the good luck streak to begin with. Was she just being paranoid now? She didn't even know anymore. All she knew was that she wanted to make sure that nothing would happen to send her back to the year 2004. She knew that if by chance she was, she wouldn't be able to handle it. She was finally given a taste of freedom again and the thought of ever returning to that life, it caused her chest to ache ever worse than it used to.

"Hermione, are you in there?" Ginny's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Her mind had begun to wonder back to the possibility of being sent back. She just couldn't relax anymore. She was so used to living that life, and having no worries, well none compared to before, just wasn't usual anymore. It was as though her mind couldn't accept the fact that things were finally okay. She was still to afraid to just let it go. Maybe with time she would heal, but maybe was all she could hope for.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Got lost in thought." Hermione muttered softly and snapped her attention back to the real world.

"Are you going to come down to dinner?" Ginny asked as she stood up, apparently about to go eat.

How long had she been lost in the day dream? The last time she could recall it was only shortly after noon. But this wasn't an unusual occurrence these days. She still wasn't completely there. Ron had taken so much from her over the years. He made her so small and now she had so much growing to do again. A few times she even almost told Harry about what had happened, she knew that he might at least give her the benefit of the doubt but then she froze. Even if he did believe her, what would he think of her? But what were the chances of her even believing her to begin with? Maybe it would be easier to get through this with the help of a friend, of someone who cared, but the chances of that seemed pretty slim.

"Yeah, sure." Hermione said with a bit of a shrug. Dinner shouldn't be to bad, apparently Ron had yet another detention so this was a good chance for her to spend some time with her friends without him getting in the way.

The two girls exited the Gryffindor common room and began to head down to the Great Hall. They made a bit of small talk about classes and then Ginny began to gush on about Dean, but Hermione's attention drifted off a bit. She really had no interest in what kind of kisser Ginny's latest boyfriend was.

"Hey guys." Harry said with a smile as the two girls took seats across from him.

"How was practice?" Hermione asked as she began pile a bit of food on her plate.

"It was alright, I'm getting really sick of girls flocking around the field, gawking over me though." Harry said in an annoyed voice.

Ever since the prophet had come out with the whole "chosen one" thing, people flocked around Harry even more than they had before. Girls often followed him around, gushing over him. They had no real interest in him of course, it was simply because of his fame. It amazed her how vane people were. Of course she had lived through this one time already, but it still amazed her the second time around.

"I know, they're just awful." Ginny agreed.

"On the bright side Harry, you get the pick of any girl you want." Seamus joked, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

The Gryffindors ate and chatted for a while. Everything with her friends seemed so easy when Ron wasn't around. So light, like the pressure on her chest had never been there to begin with. When he wasn't around she was able to forget everything that had happened and just sink into her second chance. But he always seemed to show up and everything fell apart, that weight would reappear and the memories would start running through her mind like a muggle film.

"Did you guys hear?" another sixth year Gryffindor, Katie Lynch, asked as she sat down in their group.

"Ooh, what?" Ginny asked, leaning forward with interest.

"There's going to be a Halloween Masquerade Ball!" Katie said in an excited voice, they didn't usually have events like that.

"That seems a bit cliche." Hermione said, joining into the conversation.

Both girls eyes adverted to her for a moment and then back to one another.

"Maybe it is a bit cliche but it does sound fun." Katie suggested, Hermione supposed she was right.

"Maybe Ron and Hermione will go together." Ginny suggested, giggling a bit.

Hermione's stomach sank a bit at the thought of this. The girl no longer felt hungry so she pushed her plate away a bit. What if he asked? What on earth would she say to that? She didn't want to go, she couldn't go. It was the worst thing she could do to herself at the moment.

"No dates allowed." Katie said, foiling Ginny's plan before it could even take off.

"Oh, well that seems odd." Ginny frowned.

It was clear to Hermione that Ginny wanted to set she and Ron up. The girl had been making subtle hints all week but she didn't have the heart to tell the girl no. Hermione couldn't wait until he and Lavender started going out, then Ginny would lay off and just let her be. Hermione wasn't interested in a relationship at the moment, she didn't know if she would be for a long time. And she knew very well that she would _never_ give Ron the opportunity to hurt her again like he had before.

"Well not really. Everyone's identity has to remain a secret until after midnight. If you have a date that wouldn't work out so well. And besides, according to the professors this is to "create outer house peace". The rival with the Slytherin students has gotten way worse this year, I suppose they think this will help." Katie explained as she helped herself to a warm bun.

"Sounds like a load to me." Harry said and rolled his eyes.

Hermione could understand where he was coming from though. That was just what he needed to deal with right now, a bunch of girls chasing him around, hoping that he would take them to the ball. She could picture the ball itself, there would probably be a herd of girls running around, trying to find out which guy is the "chosen one".

"Well there's a poster set up in our common room, you guys should check it out when you go up later." Katie shrugged.

Ron suddenly plopped down beside Katie.

"I still hate Snape, but notes are better than re-bottling on any day." He said and began piling food onto his plate.

Hermione's stomach made yet another sinking feeling and her eyes dropped to the table. She hadn't been expecting him to be done detention so soon. But she could ignore him for a little while, and if it came down to it she even had a bit of strength to deal with him for a bit. Before she had the chance to look up at him again she felt as though someone's eyes had fallen upon her. The 'someone's watching me', feeling rushed over her body, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand at attention. A small shiver ran through her body as she looked up, eyes wandering around, trying to figure out who was causing this sensation.

As the girl's eyes moved across the great hall they suddenly locked with the eyes of another person. But the last person she had expected it to be. Malfoy. The girl stared for a moment, she decided he was staring at Harry, he was probably starting to notice that Harry was always watching him, as he suspected him of being a Death Eater, so he was probably just staring back. The girl shook her head and returned her view back to her friends.

Ron was going on about how much he disliked Snape, while Ginny and Katie were discussing dress ideas for the ball. Neither of these conversations seemed particularly interesting to Hermione, so she decided that it was about time for her to head off.

"I'll see you guys later." the girl mummered to her friends and took off once again.

As she was exiting the Great Hall she noticed a few seventh year students putting up a big poster for the Masquerade Ball.

It read :

"Hogwarts Unity Halloween Masquerade Ball

Students fourth year and up you have been invited to attend the Hogwarts Unity Halloween Masquerade Ball on October 31st, starting at 9 PM. The night will be started with a small dinner and followed by a long night of dancing. At 12 AM there will be an unmasking and it will end at 1 AM.

We would like to ask the students to follow these rules if the wish to attend :

The Ball is meant to create outer house unity so we would like to ask you not to bring dates, and keep your identity a secret until the unmasking.

This means that you should not give out personal information, such as your name or your house, in order to allow you to get yourself acquainted with other students that you may not know yet.

There will be of course, no alcohol permitted at this event and the students are to respect the chaperons or they will be asked to leave.

And lastly, all attending students will be required to wear a Masquerade Mask, as it is a Masquerade Ball.

Have fun!

-The events planning comity."

Hermione rolled her eyes a bit at the poster. The Hermione that she used to be would have loved the idea of the ball. She would have been swooning with her friends about, giggling about how romantic it was but she wasn't that girl anymore. The idea of romance didn't make her giggle and blush as it once had, instead it now turned her stomach and made her want to hide away where no boy could ever find her. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go anymore, but she knew that Ginny would probably drag her along.

"This is going to be _so_ much fun." she muttered sarcastically and wandered off, trying to get romance out of her mind.

* * *

**A/N: As I said through Hermione, Masquerade Balls are quite cliche, but worry not readers, I'm not going to do the whole "they meet, hit it off, kiss at midnight and fall madly in love" bit. **

**I'm not sure if I'm going to make the ball the next chapter, or the chapter after that. Your opinion? Let me know.**

**Your opinions on the story or your feelings about what's happened so far are always appreciated.**

**So please review! If I get another good response from this chapter, perhaps I'll post sooner again.**

**Have a great day!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Oh you just know that I'm going to tell you that I own nothing of the amazing J.K Rowling's creations. Not trying to claim anything, I promise!**

**Oh I know, I'm awesome aren't I? The story has been online for a eight days now and this will be the fourth chapter I've gotten up.  
**

**Finally a longer chapter, I'm actually quite pleased with it. Now the story's really getting started.**

**Just to warn you, sorry for the clothing descriptions. I tried my best but I'm not very good at it.**

**I'm going to start dedicating chapters to my reviewers, so this chapter I am dedicating to **_Nebula Rising_ **and **_helikesitheymikey_**. Thanks for the reviews you guys!**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

**

* * *

Chapter four : My Life Is Over  
**

* * *

Time passed quickly over the next week and a bit. As the days passed Hermione began to feel more and more like herself again, but her issue with being around Ron still remained the same. Part of her wondered if things would ever be like they used to again. Maybe the pain would never go away and he would never be able to be her best friend again. All she could do was be patient and hope that she would heal. She knew that five years of abuse was a lot though, she could hardly expect herself to heal over night. If only she could tell Ginny that, but that would take a lot of explaining. The girl just wouldn't stop trying to hook up her friend and her brother. And unfortunately it was starting to seem like "I have to study", was turning into a bit of an old excuse. She didn't know how much longer Ginny would put up with it before she snapped.

The news of the Ball had spread quickly and it had been just as Hermione had predicted. All of the girls, or well most of them, seemed to go on some kind of rampage and they were stalking after Harry everywhere he went. Although the poster said 'no dates', these girls didn't seem to care. Not only that, but Harry had begun to receive lots of goodies from many of his fan girls. They suspected that they were all laced with love potion, so Hermione assisted Harry in throwing each and every box out.

With the news of a ball, there had to of course be some drama. There many breaks ups, hook ups and cat fights over boys. No one seemed like they were to interested in following the rules for the ball. People set up special places to meet, or code words that they could use with one another so that they would be able to find the other in the crowd, without giving away that they had broken the rules. This was probably why so many girls were on Harry's case. It had come to the point where they had to form some kind of shield as they made their way to classes. Why couldn't people ever just leave him alone? Couldn't they see that he had enough going on with his life? She wondered if they had any idea how hard they made it for him.

Ginny and her friend Katie had managed to drag Hermione off dress shopping in Hogsmeade. She spent four hours in the dress shop listening to them squeal over different dresses, going on about how amazing the other looked. Back when she had actually been in sixth year, she would have joined them but now she still saw no reason to. She couldn't find that sixteen year old girl inside of her, the one who blushed when boys called her pretty, or day dreamed about some cliche romance. She tried so hard to find that girl, but no matter how hard she searched within herself, she came up empty handed. Maybe that girl was simply gone forever.

Dress shopping wasn't something she enjoyed anymore.

_"Hermione come on, you have to find a dress, too!" Ginny had complained._

_"Ginny, I don't even know if I want to go." Hermione sighed, looking up at her friend from the chair she had been seated in nearly the whole time, while she watched the other two girls gush over one another._

_"Oh, you're going alright Hermione Granger. I don't care if I have to force you into a dress, tie you to a chair while I do your hair and make up and then drag you down to that ball and force you to have fun." Ginny threatened, "I'm your friend, Hermione. All you have been doing lately is studying. I know that sixth year is hard, and I know that you feel overwhelmed by the work but this is just one night. I want you to have fun, so you're going to that ball. If you don't you might explode or something." Ginny fumed slightly._

_Hermione didn't know what to say to that. She couldn't say no, her friend was just caring about her. If things had been differently, she would have wanted to go to the ball, too, so she decided then that she may as well. _

_"Alright, fine. You win." Hermione groaned in defeat._

_"Excellent, lets get started then!" Ginny said excitedly, and the two girls began to fuss over Hermione, just as they had been fussing over one another moments beforehand. _

Hermione now stood in front of a full length mirror, staring at herself in shock. After the war she had often been expected to attend all sorts of events. She was part of the golden trio, without she, Ron and Harry, of course, the wizarding world would never have been saved. Of course they loved Harry much more, but she and Ron were still an expected presence. It continued on until after she and Ron were married, but then she stopped attending events. Those were the last times that she had ever dressed up. Hermione hadn't felt anything close to beautiful in years, let alone decent looking and just looking in the mirror, all dressed up, she felt on the verge of tears.

After Ron had started treating her the way he did, her appearance began to suffer, she stopped caring about keeping up with her hair, she never used make up, the only thing she really dressed up for was work but that was simply plain dress robes. But there she stood, looking as lovely as ever. For the first time in so long she felt like there was some hope. She couldn't understand why, but that moment gave her a small glimmer of hope.

Her hair was half pinned up, half let down, she managed to get rid of some of the frizziness and instead turned them into neat curls. She hadn't known where she was going with it when she started but it ended up looking so much better than she had expected. Make-up, well that had never been Hermione's thing so make up had been done to a bare minimum, had being the word of concern. Just a bit of eyeliner, and mascara to shut Ginny up. Sadly, this hadn't worked because Ginny insisted on just some eyeshadow and Hermione lost. Ginny and Katie took over from there. When they finally let Hermione look again she was shocked. No, she didn't like make up but she had to admit that it looked decent. The two girls gave her a "smoky" kind of eyeshadow pattern. It was a mix of black and grays that turned to white. The mascara and eyeliner were a bit heavier than she would have liked but she knew it was better than to argue with the other two girls.

Hermione never would have let people handle her like this before, as if she were a doll for their own enjoyment. However, after everything that Ron had put her through she had started having trouble standing up for herself. So this time Ginny would get her way. She would dazzle her up until she found herself satisfied, but Hermione promised herself that by the next time any kind of event came up, she would have grown enough strength to tell Ginny, "no". That would now be her goal since being around Ron seemed to be going no where. So instead of focusing on him, why not focus on herself for a while? Why not try to heal herself before she tried to heal their friendship? It made sense to her.

Hermione's favorite part of Ginny's work though, was the dress. She couldn't deny that the girl had taste. Katie and Ginny had picked out a stunning purple spaghetti strap dress. It flowed down to her knees where it ended in ruffles. There were small sparkle patterns that webbed up the skirt of the dress and then slowly faded out. Originally Ginny had tried to get her to buy a dress that dipped a little to low, but it made her cringe inside and she practically pleaded with Ginny to choose another.

Hermione wasn't the only one that looked stunning though, the other two girls just blew her away. Although she felt that she looked amazing, the other two girls just looked so much better. Ginny wore her hair up in a loose twist, some random stands of her red hair hung down but it looked as though she had intended for it to be that way. Her make up was a little over the top, but Hermione wouldn't tell the girl that. Ginny had chosen a green dress, the color somewhat reminded Hermione of Harry's eyes, for some reason she felt as though Ginny had intended for it to be that way. The girl claimed to be head over heels for Dean, but Hermione often saw her stare drift to Harry instead. The dress showed off a bit to much of the girl's cleavage, as the top dipped very low, but Ginny had seemed pleased about this. The girl did always have a need for attention though, just another observation that Hermione had come across. The skirt of the dress layered off a bit, it stopped Ginny's one knee and then went horizontally toward her ankles. Although it had a few flaws, Hermione had to admit it was a beautiful dress.

But Katie had to look the best. Hermione didn't know the girl very well, in fact she hadn't really noticed her the first time she had been in sixth year, but now she wondered to herself how she couldn't have noticed because the girl was absolutely gorgeous. The girl's blond hair was done in curls, and her make up was just right, it made her brilliant green eyes stand out to a degree that caught even Hermione's breath. Her dress was a smile red strapless with a small design on the chest. It wasn't anything special but she pulled it off. It was girls that looked like her that had made Hermione feel so unconfident in her appearance the first time around, that was probably why she had never noticed her. There seemed to be a lot of girls like that at Hogwarts, but Hermione had come to admire Katie because unlike those other girls, she didn't act like she was the most gorgeous girl in the world. Hermione had never really met Katie the first time around, but in that moment she was finding herself grateful that she had the second, because the girl was truly remarkable and she had a feeling the two would end up very close. But she was no seer after all.

"You guys look gorgeous." Hermione said with a soft sigh, now suddenly not feeling as confident about herself.

The two girls both assured Hermione that she did, too and then they agreed that it was about time to head down to the ball. Yeah, great.

Hermione pulled the white masquerade mask over her head and the followed the other two girls out of their dormitories. The common room was mostly empty except for a few younger students who were sitting by the fire place, some of them glared enviously at the girls as they strode past. Hermione could understand though. If she were their age and if she hadn't gone through everything with Ron, she would have been jealous of the older students for being able to go as well.

The area outside of the ball was crowded with people, this seemed to be the area where people were starting to mingle. Hermione smiled at a few people as she passed, things were already seeming down. Some of the girls, she noticed as she passed them, seemed to be treating this like some kind of dating service.

"I thought the theme was 'Outer House Unity', not 'Find Your Prince Charming In A Complete Stranger'." Hermione said in a slightly venomous voice.

"Oh come on Hermione. You don't need to be such a downer all the time. It's just for fun, lighten up a bit." Ginny encouraged.

Hermione wondered if the girls were breaking the rules by helping each other dress up. Obviously they were going to know who one another were.

"I'm going to go mingle, I'll probably see you guys at dinner in a few minutes." Ginny said and rushed off, within seconds she was chatting up a boy.

"What about Dean?" Hermione asked Katie, who seemed to be looking around for someone to chat up.

"I don't know. She doesn't seem to interested in keeping it going. I think she should just tell him, but you know what Ginny's like." the blond said with a shrug. "I'm going to go find someone new to talk to. Try to have fun okay?" the girl gave Hermione a sympathetic smile and rushed off.

Hermione had a feeling that the girl knew there was something wrong with Hermione. She often gave her little supportive comments, or tried to cheer her up for no reason at all, and then another example would have been the sympathetic smile. It kind of felt good to know that someone cared, but at the same time she was to proud to actually admit to Katie that there was something wrong.

Hermione roamed around the crowd for a few moments and then wandered off into the Great Hall. The crowd inside was even bigger. There were a few people dancing, but most of the people were either seated at the circular tables on the far side of the room, or chatting with people by the walls. The girl didn't really even want to speak to anyone so she quietly made her way across the room to where the tables were set up. It was nearing fifteen after so she guessed that Dumbledore would have the feast started soon.

Sure enough, a few moments later Dumbledore stood at the front of the room and cleared his throat. The hall instantly went quiet and all eyes adverted to where the old man was standing. Hermione found it fascinating that he had such power over a room. It was probably because of how much people respected him and looked up to him. Well, almost everyone that was. There would always be people like Malfoy and his stupid group of friends who constantly mocked their Headmaster behind his back. Of course they would never have the guts to do it right to his face. They simply did it to make themselves seem tough.

"Hello everyone, it's so great to see you all here this evening, you all look absolutely dashing. I would like to ask all of you to take a seat at this time, as we will be staring dinner now. Afterward you are free to mingle or dance as you please. Have a great night everyone." Dumbledore said with a soft smile and then moved over to the chaperon table and took a seat.

People began to make their way over to the tables, most of them in small groups. Everyone seemed so into a conversation, as though they were completely fascinated by the strangers that they were meeting. But that was the point of this whole thing wasn't it? To make new friends. There was probably some Slytherin out there who completely hated everyone, and they were probably becoming great friends with someone on the list of what they hated. She wondered what their reaction would be when they found out who they were actually speaking to.

A few people took a seat at her table but paid little attention to her. They were all to busy with their own conversations but this didn't bother her any. She didn't feel like really talking to any strangers. It would be just to easy for her to say something that she shouldn't. And for all she knew, she could just be talking to another man like Ron. Another man that would suck her in and completely destroy everything that she had left. The idea of it sent complete chills right through her spine.

Dinner went by in silence, for her anyway. Everyone else in the Hall seemed to be chatting away. But she didn't mind. She could care less if she was the only person in the hall that wasn't caught up in conversation. She didn't need the company. She was fine in her own little world. Well, that wasn't completely true. She had been sentenced to nearly three years of loneliness before. After a few years of their marriage Ron hadn't allowed her to speak to anyone. That hadn't been fun but at that moment she was completely at ease. She didn't really need other people to make her happy. Her current friends were doing just fine.

"Hello." a masked stranger greeted her shortly after dinner.

Everyone else had made their way somewhere else and she had been left sitting alone at her table.

"Hello." Hermione gave a short reply to the man, not really knowing what else to say, she hadn't expected anyone to make conversation with her.

"How are you?" the dirty blond haired boy asked.

"I'm alright I suppose. How are you?" she continued the conversation awkwardly. It wasn't actually much of a conversation.

"I'm pretty good. This ball thing is kind of boring."

Hermione gave a short nod.

"So are you sitting here waiting for your boyfriend or something?" the boy asked in a casual tone.

"No, I don't have a boyfriend, nor am I waiting for anyone." she said, not sure if she should be taken aback by the boys comment or not.

"Well that's good news for me I guess. Want to make out, or hit a broom cupboard or something?" he then flashed her a flirty smile.

"I certainly would not. You're despicable." Hermione fumed slightly, got up and stomped away.

"Oh the nerve of that boy." she muttered to herself as she escaped across the room.

Over the next hour or so the girl spent it having a few awkward conversations. People tried to start conversations with her but she just didn't know what to say so the conversations would quickly die due to her lack of words and the awkward vibe that she was giving off, so the people would make some excuse and quickly evacuate away from her. She just didn't have luck with people anymore, but she didn't have a desire to speak to them anyway, so it kind of seemed like she was winning.

"Have you found Harry Potter yet?" a girl asked excitedly somewhere near Hermione.

"No, no one has been able to find him. We don't think he's here." another girl replied in a disappointed chuckle, it was just as she had assumed it would be.

He was there alright, but they weren't going to be able to find him. Hermione had seen this coming and brought up her concerns with her friend. She didn't want his night to be a total bust because of crazed fan girls so she did a bit of research and found a charm to put on his mask so that people wouldn't be able to recognize him. If they did know him, he would seem familiar but they wouldn't quite be able to make out where they thought they knew him from, or who they thought it was. It appeared as though it may have saved his night, so she felt happy for another moment of her quick thinking. At least someone was probably having a good night.

"I hate these things." a boy muttered as he leaned against the wall beside her.

"I do, too. Everyone seems so fake." Hermione whispered softly, at least someone seemed to understand what she was going through.

"Did your mates drag you here, too?" the boy asked.

"Yeah, they thought I haven't been having much fun lately and forced me to come." she explained.

"Mine too. Sometimes I wish they would just let me make my own decisions. I would know if I wasn't having enough fun. I would do something about it. I've just got my own things going on right now. You know what I mean?" the stranger asked and glanced over at her.

"That's exactly how I feel. Sometimes I feel like they're more like my parents than they are my friends. They make choices for me, as though I'm unable to make them myself. And if I disagree then they start telling me that they're worried about me or something. If there was something that I needed their help with obviously I would tell them, sometimes I just need my space." Hermione ranted a bit, quite shocked by the amount of information she was telling this perfect stranger, but even more shocked by how good it felt to get it off her chest. It was as though the pressure was getting even lighter than it had already gotten.

"Well, it looks as though I've found someone that gets me. Care to take a seat? I think we could get along fairly well." the boy suggested.

Hermione didn't even hesitate, she followed him over to the tables and they sat down.

They talked for ages, but it seemed like mere seconds had gone by when Hermione looked up and realized that it was already well passed eleven. Time had really flown. The boy just seemed to get her in a way that she couldn't describe. She was able to talk to him, she couldn't talk to her friends but she was able to talk to this boy as though she had known him just as long. No matter what she said he didn't judge it, he simply gave his opinion or some advice on it.

"And she keeps trying to set me up with him. It's so frustrating. He's one of my best friends, but I just don't foresee anything happening between us. Our relationship as friends has been rocky enough, I can't possibly imagine what it would be like if we were to date." Hermione said with a sigh.

In truth she could imagine what it would be like, she had lived it before, but that wasn't a story that she could tell this boy so she altered a few details and spilled her guts to him. She was right, she needed to talk to someone about it. It was helping a lot. She was so grateful that she had met that boy. She had no idea who he was, but he listened. It wasn't all about him, he let her have a turn to and he actually listened to what she had to say. She hadn't intended on meeting anyone, but she was so glad that it was him. She believed this would be the start of a very good friendship.

"Well it seems like that's none of her business. Maybe you should sit her down and just tell her that you have no interest in him. Just explain to her that he's simply your friend. I know it may sound hard but if it's bothering you that much, it just seems like it's something that you 'ot to do. It hardly seems fair that she would pressure you like that." the boy advised her.

They had been going back and forth like that since they started talking. She would complain about something, and he would give her some advice or simply listen, and then he would take his turn and she would do the same. The two continued venting and venting, but he wasn't even annoying her and as far as she could tell, she wasn't annoying him either. It felt so good to have someone to confide her problems in. She wasn't even thinking about who it could be, or the problems that could be caused if it was someone that she knew.

The boy started talking about how he felt people relied on him to much, as though they relied on him to much. He started talking about his parents and how their expectations were so over the top that he could hardly keep up. She felt sympathetic for the boy.

"Maybe the person's expectations who should matter are yours." she said in a soft voice and placed her hand comfortingly on his shoulder.

The two continued talking for a few minutes and then they were interrupted by the sound of Dumbledore clearing his throat at the front of the hall.

"I hope your evenings are going well. I would just like to tell you there's one minute until midnight so you should get ready to unmask and meet your new friends officially." He said in an amused voice.

"That makes me a little nervous." the boy admitted.

"Why?" Hermione asked, she felt nervous, too but she knew his reasons couldn't be the same.

"I'm not exactly well liked. I feel like we've gotten on so well, and I would hate to lose a friendship with so much potential over it.." his voice trailed off slightly.

Before Hermione could say anything about it though, Dumbledore announced that it was officially midnight and told them to take off their masks.

Hermione hesitantly did as she was instructed and pulled off her mask, not quite ready for the shock that she was about to get.

The girl's eyes widened at the sight of the boy in front of her. She would never expected it and honestly, she felt like getting up and running away. How could it be? No, there was no chance that they could get along. They were from two completely different worlds, they didn't like each other. How could she have been so stupid to so easily give her secrets away like that.

"Malfoy?" the girl managed to say as the shock subsided slightly.

"Granger... I... I..." He apparently didn't know what to say either.

Her mind was working at a million miles a minute. What kind of world had she been sent into? She resented Ron, she was completely terrified of him at the best of moments, she didn't have the same love for things that she did before, she couldn't stand up for herself like she used to and now she was getting along with Malfoy? It was just to much. When she thought about starting to talk to someone, she imagined that it would be Harry, not Malfoy. Seriously, Malfoy? Of all the people that the stranger could have been it was Malfoy?

"I think I should go." he whispered, there seemed to be a fearful look on his face.

Why was he scared? It wasn't as though he had just confided so may of his secrets into someone that had always been out to get him since the moment he stepped foot in Hogwarts. She had, why did he have to be scared about?

He didn't wait for her to say anything before he took off, leaving her sitting there, staring after him in shock. She no longer had that wave of calm rushing over her. She was in complete panic mode and didn't know what to do. What would Harry think if he found out she had spent the night with Malfoy, what would he think if he knew she enjoyed herself, or if he knew that she had told him things that she hadn't even been able to tell him, her best friend, yet?

"My life is over." Hermione whispered and she wasted no time in taking Malfoy's idea and quickly fled the scene.

* * *

**A/N: I'm hoping that isn't how you expected it to be. I would hate to be predictable. Obviously Hermione and Draco would end up talking at the Ball, but I wasn't about to have them snogging and declaring their love for one another. **

**So did you like the chapter? Well you should let me know!**

**As for the next chapter, three words. Prepare. For. Drama. DUN DUN DUNNN. LOL, I know, I'm a dork.  
**

**After this story I will be writing another one, but I can't quite decide on a pairing, so you guys should give me some ideas. What is a pairing that you would like me to write about?**

**Have a great day!  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I would like to remind you that this is J.K Rowling's world. I own nothing from her novels!**

**Yay, another chapter. It's a bit busy but there were some things that I needed to get done so I can get on with the story, so here they are.**

**I'm going to post once every one to two days for the rest of the summer, to try to get this story done so I can begin working on another. Don't forget to give me pairing suggestions!**

**I like this chapter for many reasons, but I also dislike it for many reasons. I hope you like it though!**

**I would like to dedicate this chapter to **_RoSaDbAsSqUaRdAiNs_** and **_ClaireJ_**.**

**Thanks for reviewing you guys, enjoy the chapter!**

**

* * *

Chapter Five : Nice To Meet You  
**

* * *

Hermione had a lot of trouble getting to sleep that night. She just couldn't wrap her mind around what had happened, it made no sense to her. She and Malfoy had hated each other for six years at this point, even after they graduated they had never gotten along, but they had just hit it off so well. He had made her feel so comfortable and safe, like she could tell him anything and he would be there no matter what. Her hopes had gotten so high, she thought that she would finally have a friend she could count on to be there for her, and then her hopes were crushed, yet again.

But what about Harry? She wondered to herself. No, she couldn't bring herself to tell him the things that she needed to talk about. He already had so much to deal with on his own and she didn't want to pull him in the middle of something that had to do with Ron. Ron was his best friend, too, putting him in the middle of something that hadn't even happened yet... well that just didn't seem very fair to her. She couldn't do it and feel good about herself, so again she was left alone in silence.

The whole time she was talking to Dra- Malfoy though, it was like he was a completely different person. Through their years of knowing each other, he had made himself like such a big person, like such a git that had no feelings or emotions. He always seemed like the biggest jerk in the world, and then there he was, sharing his feelings with her. Was this the kind of person he actually was? Was he really just a misunderstood person? No, he couldn't be. It must have all been some kind of ploy to impress a girl. Obviously if he had known it was her he never would have tried that crap, he knew she would know better.

Even though she wanted to believe this, there was a small part in the back of her mind that thought maybe he was being sincere.

_Ring Ring Ring_

Hermione's eyes slowly opened. A small groan escaped her mouth and for a moment she closed her eyes and just laid there, as though she were going to go back to sleep. But eventually the young woman pushed herself out of her bed and began walking to the bathroom.

This morning Hermione took longer than needed to get ready. She didn't want to go down stairs and face people. What if they knew? What would they say? It was far more than she needed to deal with, but she knew that was something that would get around the school if anyone had seen. Hermione Granger, one of the golden trio, and Draco Malfoy, a suspected death eater, what a scandal that was.

Eventually the girl couldn't avoid going down stairs any longer, so slowly she made her way down the staircase and into the common room. A few eyes followed her as she walked through the room. But that could be for any reason, right? She hoped so because she didn't want to deal with her friends reactions if they knew that she had spent the majority of the ball with Malfoy. They couldn't actually blame her if they did know, right? It wasn't as though she had known it was him. If she had she wouldn't have given him a moment of her time. He was such a git... or so she had thought.

Whispers followed her in the halls. That wasn't a good sign either. A few girls giggled and pointed, Hermione just glared. Frustration was starting to build up as people's eyes followed her. Why couldn't people grow up? It wasn't as though what went on in her life was any of their business.

"Just keep your cool." the girl whispered as she walked into the great hall.

Hermione ignored any more stares or whispers that may have followed as she walked over to the Gryffindor table where her friends were seated. The atmosphere was slightly tense but she chose to ignore this and just begin to eat.

"Good morning." she greeted them, trying to pretend as though nothing was wrong.

"So you'll never guess what happened this morning." Ginny said in a rather stale voice.

"What?" Hermione asked, taking a sip of her pumpkin juice.

"Ron asked out Lavender Brown."

"Oh... that's wo-" but she wasn't able to finish her sentence before Ron jumped in.

"Yeah, but you don't really have a right to comment on that, do you?" his voice seemed rather ticked off, "I mean with you running around with Malfoy last night. Have a good time?" he asked sarcastically.

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked, slightly taken aback.

"Oh, thought I didn't hear? Thought I wouldn't find out? Didn't realize you were that kind of person, Hermione." Ron said bitterly.

"Ron, I-" She tried but he interrupted her again.

"No, save it." he said with a dark laugh, as though he found it amusing that she was even trying to talk to him.

This was the last straw for her. She couldn't take it anymore, it felt like there was something in side of her that just erupted and she couldn't hold it in for one more second.

"What is your problem, Ronald?" Hermione bellowed at him as she got to her feet. "I have no idea what it is but you have no reason to be getting at me. Maybe you didn't notice, but you and I were _never_ together. It it absolutely _none_ of your business who I spent last night with, or what I do. I was about to say that it's wonderful that you asked Lavender out. I honestly don't give two shits because I am certainly _not _interested in you, nor will I _ever_ be." by this point she was just raging and hadn't noticed that the entire hall had gone quiet, staring at her. "We're supposed to be _friends_, Ron and if you were my friend you wouldn't be talking to me the way you just were. Don't you _ever_ call me out again, don't you _ever_ accuse me of being a bad person when I haven't done anything and don't you _ever_ speak to me like that again." she looked around and now realized that everyone was staring, "Good day." she finished in a shaky voice and quickly exited the hall.

When the girl got a little ways away from the Great Hall she found and empty corridor and fell to the ground, breaking into tears once again. For a while the girl just sat there, shaking as her body forced out sobs. That was something that she had held in for five years and if felt so good. To stand up to him, it meant everything to her. It had felt better than she imagined it would. And for him to even talk to her that way again... It just showed her that the man he was going to be was just hiding beneath the surface. She no longer felt bad for neglecting their friendship lately, clearly he didn't deserve it after all.

After the tears had gone away the girl decided to go for a walk outside. The November weather was getting cooler than it had been a few weeks ago. It wasn't hard to tell that any day now there would be snow on the ground, winter was nearing and quickly. A small shiver ran through the girls body as she took a seat by the lake. That water rippled with the wind, the lack of sunlight gave it a dull look, it didn't look the same as it did in the summer.

Hermione looked up at the gray sky and fell backward. For a while she just laid there. The past few weeks had been so much. First she had been put back in time, she was so glad for it but honestly life still wasn't as easy as she had remembered. There was so much drama, and Ron still seemed the same to her, especially now. But she had stood up to him. It was something she had wanted to do for so long but she had lived in fear of the idea. A small smile crossed her face, she couldn't believe how proud she was of herself. It was the little push she needed to get herself going, she knew right then that she would never let him control her again, she would never let him bring her down. It wasn't his right, it was her life and he had no reason to tamper with it.

"Hermione." A soft voice said, the girl looked up.

"Hey." she said weekly.

Harry sat down beside her and looked out over the water. They sat there silently for a few minutes but it didn't really matter to either of them. Their friendship didn't always need words, they knew each other so well already. With Ron there always need to be words, but not when it was just the two of them.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking down at her.

The girl hesitated for a moment but then nodded.

"Yeah, I'm just so sick of his attitude."

"Yeah, he was pretty out of line today, I'm sorry about that." Harry said and he too laid down and began to stare up at the clouded sky.

He honestly had no idea. But she wasn't about to tell him either, maybe some day but she knew she wasn't ready to disclose the real Ron to him, not just yet anyway.

"Oh well, I just won't be deal with him for a while." she said and watched as an owl flew above them, away from the castle.

"I understand that. So is it true about you and Malfoy?" he asked, in a slightly hesitant voice, as though he was scared she would get mad at him.

"I guess so, but you don't understand." she added the last bit quickly and looked over. "I didn't know who it was, of course. We just started talking. We actually got along, I'm sure he was just being fake though. We talked for a while and then Dumbledore said that we could unmask and when he did we were both totally shocked. We didn't really say anything after that, we just both left. I think it was a mistake on both parts." the girl said with a sigh and looked up at the sky again. She wished that it had been someone else, anyone else. The way they talked was so great...

"I see, well I guess there's nothing you can really do about that." Harry said with a shrug.

Relief washed over Hermione at Harry's understanding words.

"So how was the night for you?"

"It was great actually, thanks so much for helping me charm the mask. All night girls were running around trying to find me. My night would have been totally wrecked if it wasn't for you." the boy said with a soft chuckle, she could hear the honest appreciation in his voice.

"Don't worry about it, you know I'm always around to help. Besides, I know how unfair it must be for you to have a bunch of psycho girls hunting you down." Hermione laughed, Harry followed with the same warm laughter.

"But I guess that's not the only good thing about last night. I kind of.." the boy paused for a moment, as though he were trying to find the right wording for what he wanted to say, "I kind of hit it off with someone."

Hermione sat up and looked down at her friend. A smile crossed her face. "Really?" she asked.

It was no secret that Harry had never really had the best of luck with girls or relationships. She often worried about him, she worried that because of his famous status he wouldn't find the right person for him. Before he had ended up with Ginny. He seemed kind of happy, their relationship was nothing like hers and Ron's, but Hermione could never help thinking that she was just more of a fan girl, that a lover to him. She had always been that way though. The girl had apparently been in love with him since before she had ever even met him. It was just crazy.

"Yeah, I honestly didn't expect it. We just met during dinner, we spent the rest of the night talking and we even danced a bit. She's into quidditch, and she treated me like just a normal person even after she found out who I was. There was no screaming or twenty questions. She was so cool about the whole thing." Harry said with a bit of a goofy smile on his face.

"I'm so happy for you." Hermione assured him, "Who is it?"

"Ahh, it's a secret for now." he said.

"Harry!" Hermione laughed, "That's not fair."

The two continued to argue and laugh for a little while. It was so perfect, just the two of them. Hermione was fairly sure that Ron would never be a part of her circle of friends again. Obviously he would be around, but that closeness that had been there had faded and she couldn't see how it would come back. But being around Harry again, it was great. Everything kind of just snapped back to where they had left off and that friendship was still there. It was still so easy to joke around with him and he never even tried to control her like Ron and Ginny did on so many occasions. He was the greatest friend she could ask for.

Hermione and Harry sat up and began walking toward the castle. A few people watched them but they paid no attention to it. They were to busy laughing away together, carrying on with completely pointless conversations but they were having so much fun.

"Hermione." said a voice as she and Harry walked down the corridor.

They both turned to see Ginny there. The red head eyed the two for a moment, it was a rather suspicious look but it seemed as though it drifted away and her face went right to a serious look.

"What happened this morning?" the girl asked in a disappointed tone.

Hermione wasn't sure why Ginny was asking, she had been right there, she saw everything.

"What?" Hermione asked in a puzzled voice.

"Why would you say those things to Ron? You know I've been trying to set you up for weeks. I thought you guys both knew that there was something going on with each other." Ginny said and crossed her arms, her face was full of accusation and her voice was a bit colder than when the conversation had started.

"Uh... Ginny I think that's up to me, not you. If I want to start a relationship with someone, I will choose to. I know that you think I should be with your brother but I don't." Hermione began, a bit furious at Ginny now, too. "And realistically there was nothing going on between Ron and I. It doesn't matter if you say there was, it would have to have been decided by Ron and I."

Ginny gave a laugh. "Really, Hermione? What is this, just leading my brother on or something? What, are you to good for him?"

"Ginny, she never said that." Harry defended Hermione.

"Yeah, I just don't feel that way about him. I never felt anymore more than friendship for him."

"Yeah, I'm sure. What, after little Malfoy comes along you're to good for him. What, like the rich boys Hermione?"

"Ginny you're being childish. Lets go Hermione." Harry said, took Hermione's arm and lead her away from the scene.

All the way down the hall she could feel Ginny's eyes glaring right into her back.

* * *

"Well today's been fun." Hermione said sarcastically, she and Harry were now seated in the library.

"I don't suppose it could get much worse, so you shouldn't worry about it to much." Harry said with a weak smile.

"I suppose."

"Want to go down for dinner." Harry asked hopefully, the two had decided to skip lunch due to the drama that was circulating with Hermione and two of their friends.

"I don't know... maybe you should just go without me." Hermione said with a frown.

"Oh come on, don't let them drive you away. You have just as much of a right to be there." Harry tried to convince her.

"Fine, but just for you Harry." Hermione said.

Hermione nervously followed Harry down to the great hall. She wasn't looking forward to facing Ron or Ginny. She had stood up to them, and that was great but now she would have to deal with the after effects of that. She tried to act as normally as possible as she followed Harry into the great hall. Of course, he picked the seats next to Dean and Seamus, but Ron was already sitting there with Lavender and she didn't doubt Ginny would be down in a few moments to sit with Dean.

Hermione sat there in an awkward silence for a few minutes, picking at her food a bit. To her relief Katie took a seat next to her, at least it was someone that she could have a conversation with without feeling to awkward.

"Hey." she greeted cheerfully.

"Hey, how are you?" Hermione asked, taking another bite of potatoes.

"I'm pretty good. I hear that you didn't have such a great morning?"

"No I-" and yet again she was interrupted.

"No, she decided to try to start trouble with my Ron." Lavender said with a pouty look on her face, "It just goes to show how ugly jealousy can get."

"I'm not jealous of you Lavender, I have no interest in Ron."

"Sure, like I'm going to believe that. I see the way you've followed him around for the past few years. Your eyes just hungry for some of this." she said and dramatically wrapped her arm around Ron, in an almost possessive manner.

"Hmm, you know or maybe I was always around him because he and Harry have been my _best friends _since first year. But no, that would be stupid reasoning, wouldn't it?" Hermione said in a bit of a snappy voice.

"You're just boiling with jealousy. But to bad, Ron is _mine_."

"Good for you! I don't know how stupid you are, or how many times I have to say it before your shallow mind can comprehend it, but I have no interest in dating Ronald. We were simply friends but he blew it."

"Oh, of course. I forgot about what Ginny said. The minute someone with more money came along you tossed him to the side like he was some kind of dirty rag." Lavender accused her.

"I did no such thing! I was never interested to begin with."

"Don't lie to m-"

"YOU BITCH!" a voice screamed from halfway down the Gryffindor table.

Everyone in the great hall looked over curiously. Hermione had a bad feeling. There were so many people in the hall that that could have been directed to, but with her luck it was going to be her, again.

Ginny was the source of the foul language and the screaming. She stormed down between the tables, heading right for where they were sitting and stopped. Suddenly, shocking everyone who was close enough to see, she slapped Katie right across the face, leaving a pinkish palm print on her cheek.

"What was that for?" Katie asked defensively and stood up.

"You fucking stole my man!" Ginny said.

A few of the teachers at the table stood up and were watching the situation carefully. Hermione knew that if anyone like McGonagall or Snape were in the hall, this nonsense would have been stopped instantly.

"What are you talking about?" Katie asked, her voice was full of confusion. "Dean and I never did anything together!"

"I'm not talking about Dean you stupid _twit_. I heard about what happened last night at the ball. You know how I feel about Harry! But you just had to swoop in and claim him for yourself!"

With the mention of Harry more people began to pay attention. Some students were now standing and watching the argument, trying to get a better look.

"You have a boyfriend!"

"Who cares about Dean?"

"Excuse me?" Dean rose from the table and walked over to the two girls. "Who cares about Dean? Is that really how you feel Ginny? Because it seems like you'd rather be with Harry."

"Dean I..." Ginny said, her voice dropping slightly.

"Okay, I'll make this easy. Clearly you're not the person I thought you are. What a waste of five months. Goodbye Ginny." Dean shook his head, his face was hard and he showed no regret in his words. After he was done he walked calmly from the room, he didn't even look back.

"Ginny, it's none of your business who I'm with. I'm not 'your man'." Harry said, he had now gotten up from his seat and he was standing in between Katie and Ginny, as though he were guarding the blond from the crazy girl.

"I thought you knew how I felt. What about everything that happened this summer. All of the Quidditch games and the late night walks? I thought you liked me too.." the girl whimpered.

"Uh, no Ginny, I thought that was us just being friends." Harry glared at her for a moment. "You took this way to far Ginny. First you go after Hermione, and now Katie. You need to sort yourself out." Harry wrapped his arm around Katie. "Come on." He muttered and the two left the hall.

That just left Ginny standing there, everyone was staring at her. The red head looked around and glared at everyone.

"What the bloody hell are you staring at?" She snapped and people turned their heads away from the girl, within seconds whispers broke out about the scene that they had just seen.

"Ms. Weasley. You better come with me." Professor McGonagall was now standing before her, her face looking as stern as ever.

Ginny knew better than to argue, she must have been aware of how far she had just dug herself down because she followed their professor out of the room without a word.

"Wow." Seamus said with wide eyes.

"No kidding." Hermione said, forgetting about the argument that she had been having with Lavender just moments before. "There's been so much drama today."

"You started half of it." Lavender accused.

Hermione didn't even respond. It had all been to much for one day so the girl jumped up and exited the great hall.

She didn't feel like going back to the common room. There was to much of a chance that any kind of person could be lurking there, just waiting to start something else. She had had enough for one day and just need to get away, she just needed to relax away from all of her problems. She needed to go somewhere where no one would bother her, not Ron, not Ginny, not Lavender, no one.

The Library, that was the perfect place for her to go. None of them went there very often and she had the greatest chance of being left alone there.

So she headed off to the Library. The moment she stepped foot inside of it she felt a calm flow through her body. This was her peaceful place, it was her place to get away and no one was going to take that from her. Hermione slowly made her way deep into the library until she found her favorite section. She skimmed through the books for a moment until she found one on uncommon charms and then she found a table in the back of the library, away from all of the madness.

The girl sat down and instantly got lost in her book. She sat there, just absorbing all of the knowledge that she could take in. For the first time since she had been sent back, she felt more like herself. She had defended herself, and now she was in the library, acting just the way she used to. It was the most amazing feeling in the world, just knowing that her old self still lurked deep within her, that there was a chance that she could be the same person she was before.

She had been reading for a good half an hour when one of the chairs beside her was pulled out and someone sat down. Her eyes shot from the book and over to the person. The girl shut the book and made a move to get up, but a hand move to her shoulder, stopping her.

"Please, just let me say something before you run off." Malfoy pleaded with her.

She didn't reply, so he just continued.

"I know you hate me, I'm not exactly a fan of you either. I just... I can't stop thinking about you." He said in a distressed voice.

Hermione gave him a weird look.

"No, not like I fancy you or anything." He said and rolled his eyes. "We just... we got along so well. You... listened to what I had to say and that meant something to me. All day I've just been wanting to talk to you and it's been driving me mad. I mean you, of all people. And then I saw everything that went on with you and your lot today... you seemed a little in over your head last night too, and I thought that maybe you could use a friend." he bit at his lip nervously, obviously this wasn't something he had ever expected to be saying, Hermione herself didn't quite know how she should feel about it. "I know this is weird for you, it's weird for me too but you're the only person that seems to understand. I was hoping that maybe we could put our differences aside, start over maybe, we got on so well and I know that we could both use a friend..." he said awkwardly and looked down.

Hermione sat there quietly. She felt awkward, she didn't quite know what to say. But why shouldn't she? She had already spilled her guts to the boy, so what else did she have to lose. After a few moments of silence Malfoy looked up with a defeated look on his face.

"Okay, I get it." he muttered and got up to leave.

Hermione stood up too.

"I'm Hermione Granger. Who are you?" She asked, staring at the back of his head.

The boy stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned around. A small smile crossed his face at these words.

"I'm Draco Malfoy, it's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too." she said and shook his hand.

* * *

**A/N: Well that's it for this chapter. Hopefully the drama was as good as you had expected. I kind of had to put all of this into one chapter so I could get going with the story.**

**In some parts I feel it was a little 'over dramatic', but they are teenagers after all. It was kind of an opposite version of the drama in the book between Ron and Hermione concerning Lavender.  
**

**Now we're going to start seeing a lot more Draco/Hermione. I found their little "start over" kind of cute, what were your thoughts on it?**

**I'll try to post again really soon!**

**Please review =] **

**Have an awesome day.  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: This chapter kind of jumps around, rather than sticking to one day/event as I have normally been doing. This won't happen often but I'm still pushing the story into the plot.**

**At this point Hermione has probably been in the past for about two months or so, give or take. I'm to tired to do the actual math at the moment, I haven't slept yet.**

**But I'm planning on this story going through the span of two years, maybe a bit more, until after the war because I have a different ending in mind for it.**

**This chapter isn't anything to special but I have some plans for the next few chapters so they will for sure be better.**

**I own nothing of JK Rowling's! Just thought I would remind you.**

**And I would like to dedicate this chapter to two of my reviewers,****XandraLynne and Mrs. Moony 86.**** (Sorry about the spaces =/ it wouldn't let me just put it as it's supposed to be)  
**

**Thanks for reviewing guys, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Chapter Six : You Win  
**

* * *

The drama between her friends continued over the next week. Ron and Ginny glared at her whenever they got the chance. They seemed to have separated from their group of friends and had now formed their own little group with Lavender. Hermione had no problem with this of course, it just meant that she was able to hang out with her friends without one of the youngest Weasley's bringing her down. Without them along she felt herself healing a lot quicker. Of course her friends still talked to them, but when she was around they avoided her, but Ginny was now avoiding Harry as well.

Everything seemed to be going well for Hermione, she could hardly believe it. She was able to sit down and have lunch with her friends without worrying about anything. Katie and Harry were getting on really well, she didn't know why she didn't think of them hitting it off before. Harry actually seemed really happy and less stressed out than he usually was. He even seemed to forget about his obsession with Draco a bit. Class was easier this time around and she was even getting better grades than she had before.

But best of all was the friendship that had sparked between herself and Draco. Hermione never would have expected to be anything less than enemies with him, but it had happened. In fact lately she had been spending more time with him than she was spending with her other friends. They kept it a secret though, they knew how people would react if they found out Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy were friends. They would never hear the end of it, and a lot of it would probably come from their friends.

When they didn't have the chance to meet up, they would owl one another, and when they did they would sneak off somewhere like the library, or the room of requirements so that they could be alone without interruptions. They talked the same as they had at the ball. They were able to confide in each other, and it was the support that Hermione had been looking for ever since she had come back. It was mind blowing to her how easy he was to talk to, how nice he actually was and how well he listened. He wasn't the Draco Malfoy she had always thought he was.

"Ginny is still furious with me, too." Hermione said with a soft sigh.

Draco and Hermione now sat in the room of requirements. Hermione was laying on a crimson love seat, starting into the fire while Draco sat in a plush armchair, watching her as she spoke.

The boy nodded a bit, "I personally think the weaslette being immature and selfish. How is it any of her business who you go out with anyway? And to try forcing you into dating her brother... It's rather pathetic." he said softly and let his eyes follow her gaze to the fire, "Did this really all start because they saw us together at the Ball?"

"Yeah, I guess Ron got jealous and decided to ask Lavender Brown out, thinking it would bother me."

"Again, immature. What's with those Weasleys."

Hermione frowned a bit and looked over at him, "I know you have family grudges but they aren't all that bad. Honestly, besides them and well... Percy, the Weasleys are great. They've been really good to me over the years."

"Do you think you will make up?" he asked, as though he were trying to change the subject.

"I don't think so. Maybe Ginny, if she ever comes around to realize how selfish she is acting. I'm not sure if she will ever move past everything with Harry, but she and I might have a chance to patch things up. Ron on the other hand... I don't think so. I can't really see us ever being friends again. Our friendship got a bit off track and I don't see how I could possibly fix it." the girl said with a sigh and closed her eyes.

Ron was a jerk, he treated her horribly and she knew the monster he would turn into but it still tore her up inside to know that she would never have that friend back. That she, Ron and Harry would never be the way they had been before. She knew that there would never be a 'golden trio' again. Everything was so different from the first time that she had gone through her sixth year, it all happened so fast. She and Ron had fought the first time around, but because they had liked each other so much. They had mutual feelings but this time around it was completely one sided. The first time around she and Ginny had been good friends, nothing had ever happened between them in a negative way. This time Ginny seemed to absolutely hate her. She hadn't been friends with Draco before, in fact she and Draco hated each other, probably more than Ginny hated her now. Last time Ginny had been with Harry though, but at this point she would have still been with Dean. And last time Harry had barely even noticed Katie. There were a lot of changes.

It kind of seemed to her like her coming back in time was having the butterfly effect on her life. Although she was going to be happier, what else could happen due to the change in events? Part of her mind worried about the negative outcomes that could come due to her changing things. What if because of these changes the outcome of the war was different? She, Ron and Harry obviously wouldn't be traveling together to find the horcruxes, so what would come of that? Would her friend lose the battle? What would happen if he did? And now that she wasn't going to be marrying Ron, who was the poor girl that would? Would that girl be stuck with the same miserable life that Hermione had been forced to live through?

"I'm really sorry to hear that. I know you guys were close." Draco said in a light voice.

"What about you and your friends? You don't seem to be talking to them a lot lately." Hermione said and sat up, facing him now.

"We've just run into a difference of opinion. I've grown tired of them trying to hold me back. And for the time being they're probably better off without my friendship." Draco finished in a hesitant voice.

Hermione figured he didn't want to talk about it anymore so she decided to change the conversation.

The weeks continued to speed by for Hermione and as time went by, she found herself becoming happier and happier with her life. There had been no improvement with her relationship with Ginny, but there was enough going on to make up for that. Hermione usually found herself sneaking off to meet up with Draco. Luckily for them no one had caught onto their secret friendship. They made sure not to act to nice to one another in public, but they did go as far as the arguments they used to have.

"Hermione, can I ask you something?" Harry's voice interrupted her thoughts.

The girl looked up from her potions essay to where her friend sat.

"Sure." she said.

"Is there something going on with you?" Harry asked in a concerned tone, "You keep disappearing at random times, you even seem kind of distant.." his voice trailed off.

Hermione chuckled softly and smiled at her friend. She didn't think that he may be worrying about her. She didn't even realize that he had noticed her sneaking off with Draco, if she did notice, she would have tried being more careful.

"Harry I'm fine. Actually, I'm better than I have been in a long time. I've just been kind of busy lately and I have had a lot on my mind. I mean, with the war and everything, I can't help but worry about my parents..." her voice trailed off.

The part of her parents had been a lie, until she said it and then the worry set in. She had completely forgotten about her parents since she had been sent back. She hadn't had any contact with them in so long. She forgot that they were still out there, perfectly out in the open for Voldemort to attack if he found it necessarily.

"I know how you feel." Harry said and placed his hand on her forearm comfortingly, "I worry about everyone outside, too. You can always talk to me about it, you know what right?"

Hermione nodded. She knew she could talk to Harry, that wasn't the issue. She did talk to him about a lot of things, but lately she just didn't need to talk to him. Draco had come into her life and he was there whenever she needed him. She and Harry still spent a lot of time together, but she just didn't need to depend on him for all of her support anymore. Maybe he wasn't used to this because Ron had never been there for her when she needed any kind of support, so Harry was the only one she ever turned to and lately she hadn't been leaning on him at all.

"I know Harry. You're a great friend."

Another few days had passed but and Hermione hadn't seen Draco since the last time they had met in the room of requirements. She hadn't even seen him around actually... At first she was able to ignore it but now it was starting to bother her. Worry began to make it's way through the pit of her stomach and a nervous feeling set in her chest. The two of them had become rather close so it was completely normal that she was feeling worried.

He was never at meals, he never showed up to class, she never saw him in the halls. Had something happened to him? She was sure that she would have heard about it if something did, so the situation didn't make sense. But apparently she wasn't the only one who had noticed his random disappearance.

"Where has Malfoy been lately." Harry muttered as his eyes scanned over the Marauder's map.

Ever since what happened in Diagon Alley during the summer, Harry had been obsessed with finding out with Draco was up to. Hermione could remember this all to clearly from the first time around. It turned out that he had a reason to be suspicious... but that wasn't something that Hermione really wanted to think about. She had been trying to ignore those facts ever since they had started over. But for all she knew the butterfly effect could have taken effect on him and he may not even be working for Voldemort, right? All she could do was hope..

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, pretending that she hadn't noticed the boys random disappearance.

"I haven't seen him anywhere lately. He hasn't been attending class, he's been skipping meals, he hasn't even been going to the Slytherin Quidditch practice." Harry said, she could hear the frustration in his face.

"That's quite odd." Hermione said with a frown.

She never would have cared before, but now she was pretending to be interested that it was odd that he wasn't around, as though she were giving in Harry's suspicions, but really she was just hoping that Harry would find something out that she couldn't.

"I know. He isn't even on the map. Did he just leave the school or something?"

Hermione's stomach sank a mile at these words. He wasn't on the map? He was gone? Did he just leave without telling her or saying goodbye? Did she mean so little to him?

Well to be fair they had only been friends for a couple weeks. It wasn't as though they were best friends for half their lives..

But Hermione could not deny that she felt like she was sinking without him. He had become a part of her everyday life and it was eating her up that he had just vanished. She knew it was wrong to care so much, but she did. If Harry disappeared she would be feeling the same way, actually she would probably feel worse, but still.

An owl began tapping on the window, causing both of their heads to turn toward the window. Harry got up from the table and walked over, opening the window and the owl fluttered in. It made it's way over to her and landed on the table, it's leg stuck out and waited for her to take the letter.

It had to be from Draco, who else would be sending here a letter? Quickly she untied the letter from the owls leg and ripped open the letter. To his disappointment it wasn't from Draco at all.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I know that you, Ron and Ginny haven't been getting on so well lately. But I wanted to let you know that your invite here for Christmas still stands. They can be a little immature at times, but you are still considered a dear part of this family and we would love to have you over. I know right now it's probably the last thing you want, but please consider it. Christmas just wouldn't be the same without you._

_Lots of Love, _

_Mrs. Weasley. _

Hermione frowned at the letter. She felt bad that she was going to have to reject the invite from Mrs. Weasley, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to handle being around Ron and Ginny so much. And besides, she hadn't seen her parents in such a long time. There was nothing more that she wanted than to just spend Christmas with them, spend time with them, they were her parents and she missed them more than she had even missed her friends. At least when it came to her friends she would sometimes see them at the ministry, or sometimes they would pop by to see Ron. When it came to her parents she had no chance of bumping into them because they didn't live in the wizarding world. Ron wouldn't even allow her to have muggle devices in their home so she couldn't have just called them on the telly when he wasn't home.

"Who is it from?" Harry asked, sitting down again.

"Mrs. Weasley, she wants me to go to the burrow for Christmas." the young witch sighed and pulled out a piece of paper, scribbling a reply back.

"Are you going to?" Harry's voice filled with curiosity.

"No, I can't stand to be around Ron."

_Mrs. Weasley,_

_Thank you so much for the invite. You know that I would love to spend Christmas with you guys, even if Ginny and Ron aren't getting along with me so well right now. But I was hoping to go home and spend Christmas with my parents. With these hard times I never know if they're still going to be around the next time I get a break. I hope you understand. I hope you guys have a great Christmas anyway._

_Hope you're well, _

_Hermione._

Hermione tied the letter to the owls leg and watched as it swooped out the window once again. An idea hit her at that moment, she wasn't sure why she hadn't thought of it before. Why hadn't she just owled Draco? Surely he would reply to her right? She prayed so at least.

_Draco,_

_If you get this, meet me in the astronomy tower tomorrow night at eight._

_Hermione. _

Hermione folded the letter quickly so Harry couldn't read it.

"Could I borrow Hedwig?" she asked, as soon as he gave a nod she rushed up to the boy's dormitories to find the snowy bird.

"Hedwig, deliver this to Draco Malfoy, okay?" she asked, tying the letter to the owls leg.

The owl gave a soft hoot in reply and dove out the window when she opened it for her.

"Hermione, holy. What was so important about that letter?" Hermione jumped at Harry's voice which appeared right behind her.

"Oh, nothing. Sorry, just a letter to my mom." Hermione lied.

Lying to Harry wasn't something she was used to, but there wasn't really any alternative. He would hate her if she told him the truth. Knowing Harry, he would probably rather she started a romance with Snape than be friends with Draco. Just the thought of any relation with Snape made her skin crawl, it wasn't a very pleasant thought.

The next night at fifteen minutes to eight Hermione made an excuse to leave the common room, claiming that she need to get something from the library. Harry seemed a bit suspicious, but with Katie around to distract him he simply accepted this story and she was free to leave. As she made her way down the corridor she kept her hand clasped tightly on her wand. These were dark times and you never knew when someone was going to try to attack. She knew better than most of the people in the school, that even Hogwarts wasn't as safe as they would like to think. And she was not only a muggle born, but a best friend to Harry Potter. She had long accepted the fact that she was on a high priority hit list somewhere, and if there were students working for him inside the school, besides Draco, then she could be in serious trouble. Especially wandering around at night.

It only took her ten minutes to get up to the astronomy tower. No, it wasn't an extremely far walk but Hermione new that if she moved to quickly, she would end up attracting the attention of Filch or Ms. Norris and it wouldn't do her to well to get caught out so late.

Once she had arrived the girl took a seat, looking out to the star filled sky and began to wait. Part of her wondered if Draco was even going to show up. He hadn't been around, so something obviously had to be up. Had he even received her owl yet? As the minutes slowly ticked on Hermione began to quickly lose hope of her friend showing up.

Eventually her watch read twenty after and by this point Hermione was fairly sure that there was going to be no sign of Draco Malfoy. Was it weird that she suddenly felt so alone again? Sure, he was just a guy but he was different than most guys. Ron never allowed her to just be a person. She always had to keep up some kind of act around him, and always put up with his so called problems. He made her feel bad for even thinking that he should be there for her, it was always about him, always. And well Harry.. She had nothing against her best friend and she didn't blame him for the fact that he had so much going on in his life. Harry actually did have problems, far more than she had. He was so young and for some reason fate always had to find some new way to make him suffer, although she could talk to him, Hermione just didn't want to burden him with any of her problems. And then along came Draco. He had a lot of problems too, still probably more than Hermione but they sat down and talked about their problems together. It was so easy with him. She didn't have to pretend that she was okay, she didn't have to wear any kind of mask and she had gotten so used to being real with him. Nothing else, just Hermione and then he went and disappeared. Now she was at a loss of how to get her fix of being normal.

The girl sighed and got up to leave. It was pointless to keep waiting around, it was just going to make her feel worse about the whole situation. The girl was halfway across the room when the door finally opened and there he stood. As the boy stepped into the room, the moonlight streaming from the windows cast light over him, giving him an almost angelic look as his pale skin and light hair glowed with the dim light. A small smile crossed his face and he closed the door.

"I'm so sorry I'm late. Filch and Ms. Norris decided to say in one corridor for like ten minutes and I had to stay hidden behind th-" his excuse was interrupted by the girl throwing her arms around him.

"I was so worried about you." she whispered, a nervous feeling quickly followed these actions.

They had never really hugged or anything before. It felt different, but not exactly a bad different. Just a weird different... an interesting weird.

"Were you? Why?" Draco ask as he returned the hug, seeming a bit hesitant.

The shorter girl pulled back and looked up at him. "You disappeared. I haven't seen you anywhere in nearly a fortnight. You haven't been to class, meals and no one else has seem you anywhere. I thought something may have happened to you.." her voice trailed off into a whisper.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. Some family stuff came up and I've been quite busy." he quickly explained.

Part of Hermione wondered if he had been kept busy with his mission for Voldemort. She could remember quite clearly that his father had been chucked into Azkaban because of his many failures and Voldemort had then expected Draco to make up for them. But she knew that no matter how close they may have been at that point, he wouldn't tell her about that, so she didn't bother questioning him.

The two took a seat and began to talk about the events of the past few weeks, they had a lot to catch up on.

"Lucky for you the teachers have lightened up on the homework load a bit because Christmas is coming up. I reckon you have a whole load to catch up on." Hermione said as she examined his face, "Ooh, that reminds me. Mrs. Weasley actually owled me today and asked me to go to their place for Christmas, even with Ron and Ginny acting the way they are towards me."

Draco gave a bit of a chuckle, but it seemed rather forced.

"That's pretty funny."

"What's wrong?" she asked, not even bothering to pretend she hadn't noticed his forced laugh.

"What do you mean?" the boy asked, apparently trying to play oblivious to what she was talking about.

"Oh come on Draco. I know that was a forced amusement. I can see it in your eyes."

"Fine, fine." the boy muttered and rolled his eyes at the bushy haired witch, "Just the thought of Christmas doesn't sound so pleasant this year. I'm so used to going home to a nicely decorated house, drinking coco with my parents and spending time with other distant family members. We weren't never really close, but when the holidays rolled around it kind of felt like we were just any normal family." Draco frowned a bit and his gaze drifted to the window, "With my father in prison this year, my mother asked me to stay in school. I guess she just can't handle Christmas without him so she would rather just pretend it doesn't exist instead."

Hermione frowned at the boys sad tale. It actually touched a place in her heart because she knew how it was to miss those family traditions. This would be her first actual Christmas in a few years. She and Ron would usually have one of their own at home, by themselves. While she made dinner he would pop off to the burrow for a few hours and tell the family that Hermione had some kind of work emergency, or that she was ill. Christmas used to be her favorite time of year. The love and happy spirit in the air, the closeness to those who were even strangers. It was something she had missed dearly.

"I'm so sorry to hear that Draco." Hermione said in a soft voice, "Why don't you come spend Christmas at my place?"

The words had popped out of her mouth before they had even processed through her mind. It was probably a bad idea but she couldn't exactly take it back now. And besides, even if it was a bad idea she didn't want him to spend Christmas locked up in Hogwarts, miserable and thinking about what he was missing. And even better, she lived in the muggle world, it wasn't like anyone would ever know. Harry was spending Christmas at the burrow and she wasn't in the mood to go anywhere near Ron or Ginny, so maybe it wasn't that bad after all.

"W-what?" the boy asked, his face filled with surprise.

"You could come spend Christmas with me and my parents. They wouldn't mind at all and I'm sure it would be a lot better than spending it here alone." Hermione pointed out.

"I don't know.."

"Oh come on."

"What would people say..."

"They would never know. I live in the muggle world, remember Draco?" Hermione pointed out, "If it were in the wizarding world it would be a completely different story. We aren't exactly two people who are ignored by the public eye, but no one would even notice us in the muggle world."

Draco sat there for a moment, he appeared to be contemplating her words. She was really beginning to hope that he said yes. It would be a great opportunity for the two to get to know each other better, without any of their friends or people who knew them, around to get in the way.

"Are you sure? I mean I wouldn't want to get in the w-"

"Draco it's fine, I promise. I can owl my parents tomorrow and let them know you're coming. It won't be anything special, probably just the four of us but I reckon you'll have more fun with us, than here thinking about the Christmas you usually have." she prompted, hoping for a yes.

"Alright, you win." the boy surrendered.

"Fantastic." Hermione said, knowing she was in for an interesting Christmas after all.

* * *

**A/N: So in the next chapter I'll probably have them at Hermione's for Christmas. I have some interesting things planned for that.**

**I know a few people were asking me when the romance is going to start. Be patient my dears! You can't rush love.**

**This chapter was a bit drawn out but I hope you like it. How are you feeling about Hermione and Draco's friendship?**

**I have an interesting question for you guys. How do you think the war war should end this time, meaning who do you think should win?**

**I already know how I'm going to end it, but I would love to hear your guys' opinions.**

**I'll have another chapter up soon. Don't forget to review!**

**Have a great day guys!  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Everything from the Harry Potter novels is the work of J.K Rowling, I claim nothing!**

**Hey guys, this chapter is kind of short but I love it! I think you will as well.**

**In the books they never mentioned Hermione's parents names or where she lives so I just went and chose things myself.**

**A few of you had said that you find it unfair that she's blaming Ron for things that haven't even happened yet, but to endure any kind of abuse would push a person away, this situation is no different. **

**Sorry for those of you who don't like Ron being a jerk, I know he isn't in the books but to be fair this is the plot of the story and it wouldn't be the same without that little fact.**

**Thank you to those of you who continue to review! **

**This chapter is going to be dedicated to Cupcake. Chan .95 and ArsenicQueen.**

**Enjoy the chapter you guys!**

**

* * *

Chapter Seven : Attractive Prat  
**

* * *

Hermione yawned and sat up in her bed. The girl sighed freely and looked around the room for a moment, taking in her surroundings. It had been so long since she had actually been in her old room. It was so comforting, seeing all of the things that she grew up with, being somewhere that she was actually able to call home. Hogwarts had always been a home to her, it would always possess the qualities that would make it a home, but it was never her true home as her parents house was.

After taking that small moment for herself she climbed out of her bed and began getting ready for the day. It was a great feeling knowing that Christmas break had finally arrived. It was a huge relief to get away from all the drama between herself and the two youngest Weasleys, surprisingly enough it was even great to get away from classes for a while, and best of all it was great to see her parents again. At first she had been a little nervous about going home. She hadn't seen her parents in so long, what if she didn't know what to say anymore? And what would they think of Draco? Hermione had been complaining about him since her first year at Hogwarts. Would her parents judge her for suddenly being friends with him?

Luckily for her they didn't. They apparently figured that he had changed from his arrogant ways and had become a better person. While this wasn't technically true, they didn't need to know that. Hermione was really happy when her parents had greeted him with open arms when they arrived the day previously. So far nothing overly exciting had happened. They just drove back to Bristol from London, ate dinner and then soon after went to bed. So far Draco seemed to be enjoying himself, but over the years she had learned the boy was good at acting, this time may be no different.

She had been fairly nervous about him seeing her house. She knew that he was used to a manor with countless rooms and a bunch of fancy things that she had never even bothered to dream about, but in the muggle world her parents were upper middle class at best. They weren't poor but being dentists, they weren't bringing in a ton of cash. Part of her was expecting him to laugh, or make some crude remark when he laid eyes on their small two story house, but no such words came from his mouth. She had told her parents that he was a little spoiled rich kid before, so when he ended up complimenting how cozy their home was, she could tell her mom was just thrilled. Their house had been redecorated so many times because her mom just wanted to have the perfect home for them, it was what she had to show for over the years. And to have someone who had so much more, compliment it obviously meant so much to her.

Hermione made her way down stairs and entered the kitchen. To her surprise Draco was already there sipping at a cup of coffee and reading the muggle paper.

"Anything interesting?" Hermione asked as she moved over to the counter and fixed herself a cup of coffee.

"The pictures don't move." the boy complained.

Hermione chuckled, she knew that Draco was going to be confused and surprised by many of the muggle devices. She actually planned to show him the television set at some point, she figured that his reaction would be amusing.

"Well besides the pictures that don't move, how are you enjoying the muggle world?"

Hermione watched as Draco looked around for a moment. Before even answering the boy stood up and walked over to the counter.

"It's odd... like what are these things for?" Draco asked and pointed at the toaster.

"That's a toaster. It's for... toasting toast." Hermione laughed at her poor explanation.

"That's creative." Draco said sarcastically as he reached out curiously toward the toaster.

"Draco don't!" Hermione jumped up from her seat but she was to late.

Draco stuck his fingers into the toaster and seconds later a yelp of pain escaped his lips and the boy began twitching, as though he were being electrocuted. Hermione rushed over and unplugged the toaster.

"Are you okay?" Hermione's voice was panicked.

Draco began laughing and pulled his hand out of the toaster, it was completely fine.

"Oh come on Hermione, I know what a toaster is. You shouldn't doubt my intelligence so much." Draco continued to chuckle at the angered look on her face.

"That wasn't funny Draco. I honestly thought you got hurt. You nearly gave me a heart attack..." the girl muttered.

"Oh come on," Draco said and pulled the smaller girl into a hug, "It's all good fun. I'm sorry for scaring you."

"You're such a jerk." Hermione muttered and hugged the boy back.

* * *

"It's called a what?" Draco asked.

"A television."

Draco stared at the television with a curious look on his face. For a moment he watched the show that was playing, but his expression never changed from curious.

"So this is where you muggles hide the moving pictures." Draco observed aloud, earning a smile from Hermione, "So what? Muggles just sit here and watch moving pictures when they're bored?" He asked her.

"Well, not all muggles but I'm sure most do every once in a while."

"Do you like it?" Draco asked.

"I don't really like television, but there are some movies that I like." Hermione explained, she figured he would have known what a movie was from the one year he was in muggle studies.

"The moving stories?"

"Yeah."

"Muggles have a bland sense of entertainment. I couldn't sit around and watch portraits all day." Draco concluded.

* * *

About two hours later the two were all bundled up and walking down a street just a few blocks from Hermione's house. They glanced in the windows of shops as they walked by. They had decided that instead of sticking around her house all day they would try to find something to do away from her place.

Soon the two found themselves in front of a small tea shop. Hermione had lived in the area her whole life but this shop was unfamiliar.

"Would you like some tea? I've never been in this shop before." she suggested to her friend.

"Sure, why not. It's pretty cold out anyway, I could use something warm." he said and pulled the door open for Hermione.

"Thanks." she said and entered the warm shop.

* * *

"So how are you enjoying the break so far?" Hermione asked as she sipped at her tea.

"It's interesting. I've never been inside of a muggles home before, or a muggle shop. It's all so different from what I'm used to. But admittedly I am enjoying it. I find all of those muggle contraptions amusing. And I find it rather curious how muggles can get them to work without magic." he said and took a sip of his tea, "I think I was wrong about muggles all these years. To be fair it's what I was raised to believe, but I've got to admit I'm impressed. They live without magic everyday, where as I have never gone a day without some magical influence in my life."

Hermione grinned widely. She was glad that she could get Malfoy to see differently about muggles. She never thought she would see the day where she would be sitting in a muggle tea shop with Malfoy, and not only hear him say that he was wrong about muggles, but he pretty much complimented them. It was only then that she realized how much he truly matured over the years.

"I'm really impressed with you, Draco."

"Why is that?"

"You've matured a lot. I honestly never expected it."

"How do you know it wasn't all an act?" he suggested, "How do you know that I haven't always been a decent person?"

"You never acted like a decent person." Hermione pointed out.

"Or it could mean that I don't let many people in. Ever think that I just let my guard down with you? We were never friends before. Heck, half my friends still think I'm an evil bastard. I just don't feel judged when I'm around you, Hermione."

"I suppose I never thought about that." Hermione said and thought about it for a moment, "Well if that's the case I'm glad you let me in. You're a great person Draco."

* * *

"So how was your day?" Mrs. Granger asked Draco and Hermione as the four of them sat down for dinner that evening.

"It was good. Draco and I went out for a while. We found this little tea shop a few blocks over by Mrs. Dunklin's bakery." Hermione said as she cut up some of the food on her plate.

"Really? I haven't been over that way in quite a while. I'll keep in mind to check it out." her mother said.

"So Draco, where abouts do you live?" Mr. Granger asked.

"Oh, well I was raised by wizards, sir, so I live just outside of a wizard village." Draco said.

"That sounds interesting, but please, call me Dan." Dan said warmly.

"So you go to school with Hermione?" Susan Granger asked.

"Yes, we've been going to school together since our first year."

"I was under the impression that the two of you weren't on the greatest of terms." Dan said, eying Draco suspiciously.

Draco nodded, his exterior suddenly looked slightly more nervous. Hermione realized she should have warned him that she had told her parents about their past differences.

"Yes, I was a bit of a jerk before." Draco shifted a bit, "There has been a lot of controversy between our kind over the years. There are some decent wizards who were able to see past the racism of the other wizards, and they took in muggle born witches and wizards without hesitation. But there were many fully wizard families that thought magic should stay amongst magical families alone." Draco seemed to be struggling with his words, obviously trying to explain it to her parents in a way they would understand, "I was raised by a family who believed that it should remain in wizarding families alone, and because of this I was a jerk to people who didn't deserve it. My parents were raised that way, and they raised me this way so I didn't realize the fault in my actions. I hope you don't think poorly of me for what I am going to tell you, but my father was recently sent to prison for crimes against muggle borns, and it was then that I realized I didn't want to be like him. Since then I've been trying to change." His words all seemed honest, but there was something in his voice that Hermione just couldn't pick out.

Hermione's parents seemed impressed at the boys words.

"That's very big of you Draco." Susan said, giving a smile that almost looked identical to Hermione's.

"Thank you Mrs. Granger."

"Oh please, that makes me sound old. We're all friends here, please, call me Susan." she insisted.

"So what do you two kids have planned for tonight?" Dan asked as he finished the food on his plate.

"I really don't know." Hermione said and stood up, picking up hers and her fathers plate.

"I was actually going to ask Hermione if she could help me with some work that I'm behind on in class." Draco said and began to help Hermione pick up the dishes from dinner.

"Oh, well that sounds nice." Susan said and made to the oven to get out the desserts.

"I made hot pudding for dessert. I hope you all still have some room left." Susan chuckled at herself and carefully pulled four small baking bowls out of the oven. She delivered them to the table and then removed her baking gloves.

"This looks delicious honey." Dan said and winked at his wife.

Hermione chuckled a bit. Her parents were partly the reason she had never expected her relationship with Ron to be so terrible. She could tell that her parents still adored each other just as they had so many years ago. The look in her father's eye usually said it all, he stared at he as though she were his most prized possession, but he never treated her like one. They were happy, they joked around, they were best friends and that was what Hermione had expected her relationship to be like theirs. Because of their healthy relationship, she never realized that she could end up with an unhealthy one.

The four of them ate their desserts, planning the events of the next few days. Christmas Eve was the following day and there was going to be so much to do. They let Draco in on a few family traditions, like skating, Christmas Eve dinner and the new years party that would be coming up quite soon as well. If he wasn't happy about any of these plans he didn't let onto it, he seemed just as excited as they were.

"Do you think you can handle the dishes pumpkin?" Her father asked as he stood up from the table.

"Yes, I can teach Draco how to wash dishes the non-magic way." Hermione chuckled.

"Alright, we're just running over to your Aunt Liz's house to bring over the gifts. We'll be back in a bit." he kissed his daughter's forehead and gave Draco what Hermione guessed to be a warning look.

"I don't think he trusts me all that much." Draco laughed as the door closed.

"You're an attractive sixteen year old boy who's being left alone with his daughter. What father would?" Hermione laughed and began clearing dishes from the table again.

"Attractive, huh?" Draco teased as he helped her clear the dishes.

Hermione's cheeks warmed to a shade of soft crimson.

"I never said that." She muttered, still blushing.

"Oh, but I think you did." Draco laughed.

"Well, I never meant it like I'm calling you attractive, I was just stating something obvious." she chuckled nervously, "We should really get to the dishes though." she tried to change the direction of conversation.

"Oh come on, admit it. You think I'm attractive, Hermione Granger." Draco said leaning in closer.

Hermione swallowed hard and stared at him. Neither of them moved for a moment and the mood of the room seemed to suddenly get really intense.

"Admit it, Hermione." Draco teased in a voice that was barely a whisper.

"Oh fine, you're attractive. Stop being a prat and lets do the dishes." Hermione complained with a pouty look on her face.

"I may be a prat, but I'm apparently I'm an attractive prat." Draco said with a smirk.

Hermione just rolled her eyes and started the water. She waited until the water was warm and put the plug in the sink and poured in some dish soap. Draco watched her do all this, the look of curiosity had once again crossed his face.

"Since you've never done this before, I'll wash and you can dry." Hermione said and tossed him a drying rag.

She began to wash the dishes, handing them over to Draco as she finished. It was a simple concept so she wasn't surprised when he caught on fast. Within ten minutes all of the dishes were neatly placed beside the sink to dry.

"Are all muggle chores like this?" Draco asked, putting down the rag.

"Yes, they don't have magic so they do everything themselves." Hermione reminded him, he had mentioned it earlier anyway.

"I'm really glad I'm not a muggle." He joked.

"Well right now you're as good as. You can't use magic out of school anyway." Hermione pointed out.

"Neither can you, so you can't do anything about me doing this." Draco scooped up some soap bubbles from the sink and blew them into her bushy hair.

"Draco!" Hermione squealed and grabbed some bubbles and blew them back at him.

"Oh now you're asking for it!" Draco laughed, reached out and began tickling the girl.

Hermione let out another squeal and tried to escape the hold of her friend but he had the advantage as he was taller than her and all of those years of Quidditch had given him some muscle.

"Draco let me go!" Hermione giggled and continued to try to squirm away.

The tickling ended when someone cleared their throat from the doorway.

"Are we interrupting something?" Dan's voice echoed through the kitchen.

Draco and Hermione both jumped away from one another and quickly turned around to where her parents were now standing.

"Oh mom, dad." Hermione said, a blush rising in her cheeks again.

"We were just goofing off sir." Draco said nervously.

"I think you should keep your hands to yourself young man." her father said in a stern voice.

"Oh Dan, they're just having fun." Susan assured him, "We're going to go to bed, good night kids. Come on, Dan." she then pulled him out of the room before he could say anything else.

* * *

After Hermione helped Draco with his homework the two wandered off to their separate rooms, agreeing that they needed sleep as tomorrow would be an early rise. Hermione was just getting ready for bed when she heard her bedroom door open.

"Honey, could I talk to you for a second?" her mom's voice came from the doorway.

"Yes, of course." Hermione sat down on her bed, her mother quickly came and joined her.

"Is there something going on with you and Draco?" her mother asked.

"What? No! We're just friends." Hermione hadn't been expecting this question at all. She had never even thought of Draco in that way, she didn't want to think about relationships for a long time.

"Are you sure? You guys looked pretty comfortable tonight." her mom pointed out.

"Mum, we were just playing around. We're just friends, we're pretty close but that's it." she promised her mom.

"Okay, well if you're sure sweetheart. But he seems like a good boy. Don't worry about what your father might think." she kissed her daughter's forehead and left the room, leaving Hermione alone with her thoughts.

* * *

**A/N: Like I said, it's short but I really liked it. I think Hermione and Draco are just adorable.**

**The next few chapters will revolve around Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Years, but I promise to try to keep up with the cute stuff.**

**So what did you think?**

**Who's your favorite character so far? Who's your favorite couple so far?**

**You should let me know!**

**Please review guys.**

**Have a great day! I'll post again as soon as I can.  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: It took me longer than expected to update, but it's here!**

**I own nothing, still. **

**I was going to make Christmas and New Years into separate chapters but I want to get the story moving, so it'll all be in the next chapter and then back to school.**

**A few people have been asking and yes, Luna will be in this story. **

**And yay to all of you who agree that Ron and Hermione weren't right for one another!**

**This chapter is dedicated to tfobmv18 and pirateKitten11893  
**

* * *

**Chapter Eight : Bring It On**

* * *

"So what do you think we should do first, darling?" Dan asked Susan after they finished cleaning the kitchen from breakfast.

"Hmm," Susan said and put on a thoughtful look, "I suppose we could start with skating, perhaps after that we could warm up with some hot chocolate and lunch at the place just down the block from the rink, then we could finish up some last minute shopping and then head over to your sisters for dinner."

"That sounds good with me, what about you pumpkin?" Dan asked his daughter, who was being unusually quiet.

"That's fine with me dad." Hermione said and looked up at the three people who were now staring at her.

All morning Hermione had been more quiet than usual. Her mind seemed to be caught on the events of last night. She didn't get what the big deal was, or what exactly her mother was thinking. So what that she and Draco had been found in a little tickle war, she and Harry had many moments like that and she was very sure that she had no romantic feelings for him. So why were her parents suddenly assuming that there was something going on with her and Draco, over something as simple as that? What had her mother even meant the night previously, when she had slipped into Hermione's room to have that little talk.

"Alright then. Lets all get ready and head out." Dan said enthusiastically.

Just moments later the three Grangers and Draco were all bundled up in their winter gear and loading up into the car. As they pulled out of the drive way Mrs. Granger flicked on the radio. It didn't shock anyone that the only music on was Christmas music, but Dan and Susan seemed quite happy with this, as they quickly began to sing along with their favorite Christmas tunes.

"Later on, we'll conspire. As we dream, by the fire. To face unafraid, the plans that we've made. Walking in a Win-" Susan sang and came to a halt momentarily, "Oh come on Hermione dear. You know the lyrics, we used to go caroling all the time. Sing along." And then she returned to singing once again.

Hermione's cheeks changed to a soft pink color. She didn't feel like singing. She never thought that her singing voice was anything special, so she didn't want to put it out there for Draco to laugh at. He had changed a lot, he seemed so much sweeter now but Hermione always kept in mind the person he was before, just in case it ever came back. To her surprise though, another voice began to sing along with her parents. Hermione looked over, only to find Draco singing.

"Don't be a party pooper." He said, grinning at her and once again began to sing along.

"Oh fine." she huffed, in a mock dramatic way and nervously joined in chanting along with the others.

"You have a fantastic singing voice, Draco." Susan raved as they got out of the car.

"Thank you, Susan." Draco said and flashed his charming smile.

The four of them made their way towards the rink.

"Have you ever skated before, Draco?" Dan asked as he ordered four pairs of skates for them.

"Yes, there's a lake that freezes over in the village not far from my parents manor. When I was younger my parents would take me skating every winter." Draco replied.

"Oh that's nice." Susan said as each of them picked up the pair of skates that was rented for them, "We've been taking Hermione every year since she was four. But she's still a bit clumsy on the ice."

"Mum!" Hermione complained.

"Oh calm down honey, it's okay. Sports have just never been your thing. Academics are where you shine." Her mom said gave her a convincing smile.

"Don't worry, I haven't skated in years, I probably won't be that much better." Draco assured the girl, giving her a one armed hug.

Susan and Dan eyed the two and then wandered off into the rink.

"I'm rather fond of them." Draco said as they watched the two walk away.

"They act a little to 'in your face' sometimes, but I love them. I couldn't ask for two better parents." Hermione and Draco began to follow them toward the rink.

A few moments later the four of them all had their skates on and they had ventured out onto the ice. Dan and Susan were dancing to a song playing in the background, Hermione couldn't deny that her parents looked so happy together. Why couldn't she have gotten a romance like that. Hermione and Draco just skated around, chatting with one another.

"Your parents look so happy together." Draco commented as they skated past the two, who were to busy in their own little world to even notice.

"I know, I hope to have something like that someday." Hermione said as they swooped around a few other people.

"So do I, I never thought that marriages could be like that." Draco admitted, "My parents marriage was arranged, so they were never married because they loved one another. I was to be arranged too, so it just seemed like one of those things you have to do, rather than one of those things you want to do. My mom has always been so sweet, where as my father has never been a very good person, he's never treated her with the respect she deserved. I wasn't looking forward to that, but just seeing how happy your parents are together. It makes me a little bit excited."

"Arranged?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, all pure bloods have arranged marriages, it's to continue on the bloodline. I was supposed to marry Pansy, we had been engaged since we were two. But after my father went to Azkaban my mother called it off, she told me that she wouldn't want me to be so miserable in a marriage like she was. She told me that it's supposed to be special. I never believed her until I met your parents." Draco and and quickly reached out for her as she stumbled of a rough patch in the ice.

"Thanks. And oh, your mom sounds really sweet, Draco. I'm really sorry that she had to go through so much." Hermione fixed her footing before continuing to skate again.

"So do I, but she's told me so many times not to be sorry. She always tells me that she can't ever bring herself to wish things differently, because if they were different she wouldn't have me." Draco chuckled but she could see the many heavier emotions that filled his eyes.

"Well she's very lucky to have you, Draco." Hermione assured him and stopped for a moment.

They just stood there and stared at one another quietly for a moment.

"I don't think she is." he whispered.

"She is. I know that you can't see it, but you really are an amazing person." Hermione promised.

"But I feel like such a horrible person. I'm afraid that I'm following in his footsteps. I don't want to be like him, I never want to treat people the way he has, but I don't really have a choice." Draco looked away from her.

Hermione wasn't sure where any of this was coming from. She figured maybe it was because of the mission that Voldemort had sentenced him to. Of course Hermione wasn't supposed to know about these things, so she knew better than to comment on it.

"You're not a horrible person, Draco. Our DNA doesn't make us a bad person. It's the choices we make." she whispered and hugged him, "You always have the choice to do better by people than worse. You can be a good person if you want to, regardless who your father is. Please don't forget that."

"Thank you, Hermione." Draco hugged her back and kissed the top of her head softly, "I'm so glad you're around. If I didn't have someone to talk to, I think I would explode."

"The feeling is mutual."

"How did you guys enjoy skating?" Susan asked them, an hour later.

The four were now seated in a little restaurant just down the road from the rink. The exterior of the building didn't look so promising but the inside was actually quite charming. It had a fancy look to it, but it was warm and cozy at the same time. It was a Granger tradition to come to the restaurant every year after skating for a quick lunch and a cup of hot chocolate.

"It was great, I missed skating. Thank you for bringing me." Draco flashed his charming smile once again.

"Oh it was no problem, we had a great time." Dan smiled and looked over at his wife.

Soon their meals arrived and the four began to dig into their different food choices.

"So Draco, how are you in school?" Dan asked as he took a bit of his shepherds pie.

"I do fairly well, I usually get E's or O's in most of my classes, I never did to great in Divination but that's a lesser subject. So, I do pretty good, not as well as Hermione of course, she's always the top of our year."

"That's my girl!" Dan praised.

"So what about sports, do you play football or anything?" Susan asked.

"Do I play what?" Draco asked.

"It's a muggle sport." Hermione explained, "Mum, we don't play muggle sports. Wizards have their own sports."

"Oh, that must be interesting. So do you play any wizarding sports?"

"I play Quidditch." Draco said.

"What exactly is Quidditch." Dan asked.

"It's a wizarding game played on brooms. It's played by two teams of seven people. Each team has one keeper, three chasers, two beaters and a seeker. The keeper guards the the goal posts. One goal post is thirty feet in the air, one is forty feet and the other is fifty feet." Draco began explaining the game to the two. Susan seemed interested, while Dan was hanging onto Draco's every word, " The three chasers toss a ball, the quaffle, into the other teams goal posts for ten points a score. The two beaters use clubs to bat two other balls, the bludgers, away from their teammates and try to hit the other teams players. And then finally the last player tries to catch another ball, the golden snitch which is worth 150 points and it ends the game. Whoever has the most points, after the addition of the seekers points, wins the game."

"That's absolutely fascinating." Dan said, staring at Draco wide eyed, like a kid who just learned they were going to Disney World.

"Perhaps during the summer I could take you to a game, my family has reserved seats in one of the boxes."

"I would love to go with you." Dan said excitedly, "So which position do you play?"

"I'm a seeker."

"Would you say it's a difficult position?"

"Kind of, yes, but none of the positions are easy. The snitch is really fast and sometimes it's almost impossible to see. Some games have gone on for months because they weren't able to locate the snitch. The longest game in recorded history was six months." Draco explained.

"Six months?" Dan exclaimed, obviously much more impressed by Draco now because of the stories, "How would that work?"

"Well the games never stop, so they would switch off with their secondary players for a while so their main players could rest, eat and do whatever else they need and then switch back again."

Susan gave her daughter an amused look and mouthed 'boys', while shaking her head. Hermione just nodded in agreement and continued eating.

For the rest of lunch Dan stormed Draco with any questions he could think about Quidditch. Draco seemed completely fine with answering, in fact he seemed happy that Dan was taking an interest. The girls started a conversation of their own, like which stores they should finish their Christmas shopping in after lunch was finished. Hermione could tell her mother was pleased that Dan was being less tense with Draco, in fact it seemed as though he had forgotten anything negative about Draco by this point.

As they exited the restaurant, Dan seemed in a lot better mood than before. Hermione was starting to think that he might insist on adopting the boy.

"So Dan, how about you and Draco go with one another, and Hermione will go with one another so we can get some of the shopping done a bit quicker." Susan suggested, "You can get gifts for Carol and the kids, and I will the those other ones we needed."

Dan nodded as the four of them stepped through the doors of the mall.

"Alright, how about we meet back here in an hour then?"

"Sounds good, lets go pumpkin." Susan said and began to walk off, Hermione followed closely after her.

"I think dad's falling in love." Hermione joked.

"Indeed it does, you and your father might end up fighting over the poor boys heart." Susan joked back.

"What?" Hermione almost choked on air.

"Oh come on dear, I see the way you look at one another. I see the way the two of you talk to one another. I can even feel the vibe when I walk into the room."

"Mum, honestly there's nothing going on."

"Then you two just haven't figured it out yet." Susan pulled a crimson jumper off of one of the racks and showed it to Hermione. "Do you think Draco would like this?"

"If they have it in green." Hermione said, not wanting to continue the other conversation. The girl worried that maybe her mom was just getting her hopes up over a romance that would never happen. She and Draco were just friends, and she wasn't even close to wanting a relationship.

Meanwhile somewhere else in the mall.

Dan glanced over at Draco as he searched through a few kids toys.

"Draco, there's something I've been meaning to speak with you about." Dan's tone was more serious than usual.

"What is it, sir?" Draco addressed the man differently, as his voice said this was a different matter.

"Is there something going on with you and my daughter?"

Draco froze and looked over at the older man. He stood there for a moment, choosing his words carefully.

"We're just really good friends, sir. I know it's probably hard to believe from a boy my age but if there was something going on between us, I would have no problem sharing that with you or your wife." Draco admitted, "You are both great people and you make me feel welcome. I'm so glad to have come here and met the two of you, I wouldn't do anything to make either of you dislike me."

Dan nodded a bit. "Alright, well I believe you. I'm not meaning to pry, but she's my little girl, you know? I don't want her getting hurt, she means so much to Susan and I."

"She means a lot to me, too. She's one of the best friends I've ever had and we haven't even been friends for that long. Nothing is going on with us, but I assure you that if there was, I wouldn't hurt her. She wouldn't deserve it."

"I'm glad you agree with me, Draco." Dan said and smiled. "Alright, well now that we've got that settled, I'd love to hear more about that Quidditch game."

And back to Hermione.

"I think Dad would love this." Hermione said and pulled a dress shirt off a rack.

"I quite agree." Susan said.

She glanced at her watch and then at their cart full of items.

"Okay, well we should get these wrapped up and then go meet your father and Draco again. After that we should get to your Aunt's house so I can help out with dinner." Susan said.

The two women paid for their items and watched as an older woman gift wrapped them. They were both silent. Hermione had been avoiding conversation with her mother. Maybe one of Luna's bizarre creatures had gotten to her mother and now she was acting weirdly. She and Draco could just be friends right? Just because they were a boy and a girl, and they were close didn't mean anything. Look at her and Harry. Of course their relationship was different than that of her's and Harry's, but still...

"How was shopping you two?" Susan asked as the boys as they returned to the meeting place.

"It was good, Draco and I had a nice chat." Dan said and gave his wife a knowing look.

The man walked up to his wife and gave her a kiss on the cheek. For a second Hermione could have sworn she heard her father say something along the lines of 'you're wrong, I win', but she decided she was hearing things and pushed it out of her mind.

It didn't take long before they were pulling up in front of Hermione's Aunt's house. Hermione couldn't believe the excitement that flowed through her. It had been so long since she had seen everyone. If she wasn't only sixteen again she would wonder if they had forgotten about her.

The Grangers and their guest got out of the car and made their way up the frosted path toward the large house. Dan's sister had married a well known lawyer, so they were a bit better off than the Grangers.

"It's so nice to see you all!" Carol greeted them at the door, "Oh Hermione you've gotten so big!"

Her Aunt pulled her into a big bone crushing hug. It reminded her of the ones Mrs. Weasley used to give to her, but this one wasn't quite as warm and loving. No hugs seemed to be as good as Mrs. Weasley's.

"Ooh, is this your boyfriend?" her Aunt commented at the sight of Draco, "What a cutie."

"No, this is my friend, Draco." Hermione introduced her to him. "Draco, this is my Aunt Carol."

"Nice to meet you dear, no come on. Lets get you four out of the cold." Carol gestured them into the warmth of her home.

"Hermione, you and Draco can join the other young-ins in the living room. Susan, Dan follow me into the kitchen. We have so much to catch up on."

"She seems really enthusiastic." Draco whispered.

"You have no idea." Hermione muttered back and lead him into the living room.

The two of them entered the living room where many of her cousins were. The younger ones were playing with some toys in the corner, while a few of the girls her age gossiped on the couch, and the rest of them seemed to be watching something on the telly.

"It's the moving pictures again." Draco whispered as he stepped up close behind her. Hermione felt a shiver run through her body as she felt his warm breath dance across her ear.

"Oh uh, yeah." the girl said and quickly moved away from the boy.

The girl walked over to the sofa and sat down beside one of her gossiping cousins, but the other girl was to busy to even notice. Draco didn't hesitate to sit down beside Hermione.

"So earlier your dad asked me if there's anything going on with us." Draco said, clearly not feeling to interested in the 'moving pictures'.

"Oh dear god, him too? I'm really sorry. My mom's been asking me about that as well." she sighed softly.

"It's okay, they just worry about you." he smiled.

"I know they do. I wish they could see we're just friends though."

"Well can you really blame them. You're a smart, kind, beautiful girl. They're just worried because they know how teenage boys are. They can't keep their hands off girls like you." He flashed yet another charming smile.

"Oh, so are you calling me beautiful, Malfoy?" Hermione teased him, using his own game against him.

"Oh you're evil." Draco chuckled.

"Come on, don't change the conversation. You just called me beautiful, own up to it there buddy." Hermione laughed.

"Oh fine, yes, you're beautiful Hermione. But that doesn't change that I'm an attractive prat."

"Oh but I think I just beat you at your own game."

"Do I need to start tickling you again? I'm sure I could win if I really wanted to."

"Don't you even dare." Hermione said, wide eyed.

"Now obviously isn't a great time. Your dad might have a heart attack if he walks in on that again, but I'll get you." He warned the girl.

"Pshh, bring it on."

* * *

**A/N: Hope you like it.**

**I love your feedback guys, keep it up.**

**I'm going to try to possibly have the next chapter up tomorrow.**

**I have the idea already in my head and so far I think it's going to be one of my favorites.**

**Please review!**

**Have a great day!  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: This chapter is kind of short to, but it's a little treat for all of you who have stuck with me so far.**

**I own nothing. **

**This chapter will just be dedicated to all of you who continue to read.

* * *

Chapter Nine : But No One Can Stay Lost Forever. **

* * *

Christmas morning arrived quickly at the Grangers' house. When Hermione was much younger, she would always be the first to wake up. For a moment she wouldn't quite understand why such excitement was taking over her, but then she would remember it was Christmas Day. The girl was always an oddball, but she had been a child just like anyone else. So the girl would hop out of her bed, run down the hall and jump on her parents bed to wake them up so she could begin opening her presents.

But Hermione didn't wake up first anymore. She had grown up, matured and calmed down. So nowadays it was the alarm clock on the side of her bed that woke her up in the morning. As she arose in her bed a smile crossed her face as she recalled the date. It was no longer a strong excitement, just a bit of joy. Her love for Christmas had never faded, the feeling in the air was enough to keep it in her heart, but she wasn't that child again.

Hermione entered the kitchen about twenty minutes later to see Draco and her parents drinking coffee and chatting at the table.

"Oh good morning pumpkin." Her father suddenly seemed more excited.

It was her father that got excited about Christmas now, but Susan always made him calm down. It wasn't for the same reason Hermione had been as a child though. Hermione knew that he loved to watch the expressions on her's and her mother's face as they unwrapped the gifts from him. She had once overheard him telling her mom that it was his favorite part of the whole holiday.

"Good morning," Hermione walked over and poured herself up a coffee.

"Should we get to presents then?"

The four of the piled into the living room around the large Christmas tree that was placed in the far corner of the room.

"Oh it looks as though my mother had one of the elves bring me some presents." Draco observed a few new gifts that were settled under the tree.

"Elves?" Susan asked curiously.

"House elves." Draco commented.

"Does your family still treat them like they treated Dobby?" Hermione's eyes narrowed on the boy.

"That was just my father." Draco promised

The four began opening their gifts. Susan and Dan eyed Draco's presents curiously. Since Draco was from a magical family so of course all of his gifts were from the wizarding world.

Hermione came to a small box in her pile. It was long and narrow, but it was different from the gifts from her parents and other family members. This one said 'from Draco'. She hadn't realized that he would get her anything.

She opened the packaging to find a beautiful gold necklace with three bright red rubies centered in the chain.

"Gryffindor colors, I thought you'd like it." Draco said as she observed the gift.

"I love it, Draco. Thank you."

"I see you had the same idea with my gift." Draco smiled as he pulled out the green jumper.

"My mom wanted to get a crimson one for you."

The two chuckled, Susan watched them, obviously clueless to the rivalry between their two houses.

It didn't take long for all the gifts to be opened. Hermione and her mother seemed to be discussing different clothes that they had received for Christmas, leaving Dan and Draco sitting there quietly.

"Dan, would you like to play a game of wizards chess?" Draco asked, "I think you would enjoy it."

Dan gave the boy a curious look, "How do you play?"

"The same as normal chess but the pieces move themselves as you command them."

Draco pulled the game out of the wizards chess that his mother had sent him for Christmas and set it up on the living room table. Dan excitedly took his place as he watched Draco place the pieces in their place.

Within moments after the game started, Hermione could tell her father was hooked. She wondered if her father would soon develop a boy crush on her friend. It was starting to seem like it. Draco was probably everything that Dan would have wanted in a son. He was smart, charming, Quidditch made her father more excited than Christmas and now he had introduced him to wizards chess.

Eventually Dan and Susan got busy with preparing dinner and the two teenagers finally got a chance to spend some time together.

"How is your Christmas?" Draco asked as the two took a seat on the sofa.

"It's pretty good." Hermione said with a smile, "It seems like my dad is falling in love with you."

Draco laughed with Hermione on this comment, "Well it's better than him hating me for suspicion of dating his daughter."

"True enough, I still don't understand why my parents are so caught up on that. The way my mom talks about it makes her sound almost hopefully that she's right."

"Well who wouldn't want such an attractive prat for a son in law?" Draco joked.

Hermione just rolled her eyes, unable to keep from smiling.

"Thank you for inviting me for Christmas. Right now I would probably be sitting in my dorm room hating life. I'm having a great time."

"It's okay, admittedly my Christmas has been a lot better with you around."

The hours flew by quickly. People started arriving at the Grangers' house around five in the afternoon. Draco was introduced to many people. Almost each time they got the same remark, 'Is this your boyfriend?'

"Herminny, what did Santa Cwause bwing you?" Hermione's three year old cousin walked up to her.

The girl smiled at the toddler's pronunciation. "Lots of pretty things, what did Santa Clause bring you?"

The little girl began describing all of the toys that she had gotten for Christmas. She was so adorable. Hermione had always wanted kids. Even when she was married to Ron she had dreamed of children, but the boy had refused. He didn't want her kids. Those were the words he had said to her, like there was something wrong with her.

"Becca your daddy's here, lets go see him." Her Aunt Liz entered the room and took the little girl away. The girl seemed to have forgotten what she was talking about at this new exciting news.

"Who is Santa Clause?" Draco whispered to Hermione as Liz walked away with Becca.

Hermione stood there and laughed for a moment. She kept forgetting that Draco didn't know about their muggle traditions.

"There's this muggle tale that says a long time ago there was this man named Santa Clause, he was a saint and he always wished to give. One year he created Christmas and traveled all the way around the world, bringing gifts to every boy and girl. The tradition is still carried on today but it's just parents who give their children the gifts, and tell them that it was from Santa Clause."

"That's... odd." Draco said.

"I know, but it makes the kids so happy. And it's tradition."

"So is that where Christmas came from then?"

"Well partly, the rest of it was because it was Christ's birthday."

"Who...?"

"Oh never mind, you'd rather not know." Hermione laughed.

"So Hermione," her Aunt began at dinner, everyone was seated around a large table that had been set up, "How do you know Draco?"

"He's a friend from school."

"Are you still going to that boarding school?" her Aunt asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Yes." Hermione nibbled at the turkey on her fork.

"I had always figured it was an all girls school."

"No, it isn't but our teachers keep a good eye on us." Hermione assured the woman, knowing where she was going with the whole conversation.

"Well that's good. But they can't keep an eye on all of you at once. You know how teenage boys can be." She eyed Draco suspiciously.

"Aunt Liz." Hermione complained.

"Your Aunt seems nice." Draco said with a hint of sarcasm as they watched everyone leave that night.

For the rest of dinner she had lectured Hermione about how all boys just wanted one thing. She started going into detail about how their hormones caused them to think with only one head, and not the one on their shoulders. Toward the end Hermione was pretty sure that her Aunt was starting to hint at the fact that all really attractive guys were man whores, and moments before that she had complimented Draco on how attractive he was. It wasn't so hard to fit the pieces of that puzzle together.

"I'm sorry about her, my uncle kind of broke her heart. That's why they didn't come here together." Hermione whispered back.

"Well that was interesting." Draco said as the two headed into the living room.

"It really was, you can't tell me you didn't find her a little humorous."

"Well she was, a little but it would have been funnier if it wasn't all about me being a man whore." Draco pointed out.

"Well you know, some rumors at school could have supported her theory."

"You should know better than to believe rumors Hermione." Draco said as they took a seat on the sofa, "Or should I remind you about in fourth year when you were leading on both Potter and Krum." Draco referenced a daily prophet article written by Rita Skeeter.

"Oh shush you." Hermione said, playfully glaring at him.

"So what are your plans for tonight?" Draco asked.

"I was wondering if you would watch a movie with me, I know you don't find them interesting but we could pick out something." Hermione suggested.

Draco stared at her for a moment but eventually nodded, "Sure, why not."

The two spent a good ten minutes picking out a movie. After they put it on the two settled into their seats on the sofa. They silently watched the movie, even Draco seemed interested in it. Eventually he looked over and saw that Hermione had dozed off. She looked so different when she slept. She usually had such a tough exterior but when she slept she looked so innocent and vulnerable. The boy covered her up with a blanket that sat on top of the sofa and turned back to the movie, only to find himself soon falling asleep, too.

The holidays continued to race by. Before they realized how fast time was flying, it reached December 31st.

Dan and Susan had long ago been invited to a friend's New Years party, and the two invited Draco and Hermione to tag along.

"So what's your new years resolution?" Draco asked.

The two of them stood in a corner, out of the attention of all the adults who were mingling amongst one another.

"Not to let anyone control me anymore. I want to lead my own life. I don't care what other people say anymore. I don't care what I have to lose." Hermione added.

"Good, I'm proud of you. I'm going to hold you to it." Draco smiled.

"Well what is yours?"

"I'm going to try to be a better person." Draco said, she could hear a hint of embarrassment in his voice.

"That's a great resolution. I'm going to hold you to it as well."

"Good, I may need your help. Being a good person isn't very easy you know. There's so much temptation to be bad." the boy teased.

"Oh? And what temptation is there?" Hermione teased back.

She wasn't sure what had gotten into her. She could almost swear that her reply her been quite flirting. It was probably the result of the alcohol they had managed to snag without anyone noticing. Hermione had drank maybe once before in her life, so it wasn't hard to get her tipsy.

"Well, there's yo-" Before he could finish his also flirty come back they were interrupted.

"Hey pumpkin, I just wanted to check in. Are you guys having fun." Susan asked.

Ever since the woman had discovered the two teenagers asleep together on the sofa the day after Christmas, she had been even more in Hermione's face about the possibility of a relationship blooming between her and Draco. Hermione was beginning to figure that her mom wouldn't leave her alone until she admitted to some sort of thing. Unfortunately that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"Oh, uh, yeah it's pretty fun." Hermione said.

"I'm having a great time as well. Thank you for inviting us." Draco jumped in before Hermione could sink.

Her mom stayed and talked for a few minutes. She left giving the two a look that had become quite common lately. It was a look of suspicion and hope. Hermione wished her mom would lay off a bit.

"So we're going back to Hogwarts in a few days." Draco pointed out.

"Yeah, it's going to be so weird going back. I've gotten so used to it just being the two of us." Hermione sighed, "It's going to be weird to pretend I hate you in public again.."

She had gotten so used to being able to speak to Draco whenever she wanted. When they got back to Hogwarts the two would once again have to meet in secret and pretend to hate each other in front of all of their friends and other peering eyes.

"I know," Draco whispered, "Can you do me a favor?"

"Of course." Draco took her hands in his and stared down at her seriously, "No matter what I may say to you in front of others, no matter how harsh it may be. No matter if I ignore you or give you cold looks, please don't take any of it to heart because I don't mean it. You mean so much to me Hermione. You took over such a big place in my life so quickly. I don't want to hurt you but I know these things will happen."

Hermione almost felt tears fill up her eyes but she managed to force them away.

"I know, it's not your fault. We're from two different worlds. I don't blame you for anything. Please don't take anything I say to heart either." Hermione pulled the boy into a long hug.

"How did this happen?" Draco asked softly.

"How did what happen?"

"This. Us. We hated each other for so long. This whole thing is so surreal, but at the same time I can't remember what it's like to hate you the way I hated you before. Never did I think that a day would come when you would be so important to me."

"I don't know, but thank you for being a part of my life. I had no one to talk to before you became a part of my life."

"We're so corny." Draco laughed as he pulled away from the shorter woman.

"I'm guessing it's the alcohol talking." Hermione giggled a bit, causing an amused look to cross Draco's face.

"You don't drink much do you?"

"This is the second time in my life."

"Ahh, I should have figured, you're such a goody goody." Draco teased.

"Hey I'm not a goody goody!"

"Right." Draco said sarcastically.

"I break the rules all the time!"

"All for a better good. Every time you and your little Gryffindor buddies break the rules you end up saving the day, that hardly counts."

"So? I've done bad things."

"You've never even gotten a bad grade. Admit it Granger, you're as good as it gets."

"No." Hermione huffed slightly.

"You're even a prefect."

"So are you!"

"Yes, but I don't care what the other students do as long as they don't kill each other. I saw you deduct points for not wearing the uniform properly."

Hermione had no come back so she just stood there and glared at the boy for a moment.

"Such a good girl." the boy teased and pushed some hair out of her face, "It's okay, lots of guys like good girls."

Hermione blushed softly, how did he do that to her. She wasn't much of a person who blushed. But he made her blush countless times a way. All of his stupid remarks, his sexual hints and his flirty charm. It wasn't fair, it shouldn't be that easy.

"Oh shut up." Hermione complained, not wanting to blush anymore and she knew if the conversation continued she would.

"You know I'm telling the truth, Hermione." Draco laughed, "Lots of guys find it sexy. A smart girl like you should realize that."

Hermione blushed even harder.

"Draco I think you may have had a little to much to drink."

Draco chuckled at these words, "Hermione I drink a lot more than you. I may be painfully honest right now, but I'm more sober than you are."

"So tell me Hermione, is there something going on with you and Harry?" Draco asked a little while later.

Hermione stared laughing loudly. She didn't know why people always assumed this. Yes, they were close friends but it was the same thing that people kept assuming about she and Draco. Out of anyone she knew, she had figured Draco to know best on that situation.

"No, we're just friends Draco." Hermione sighed, "I thought you knew that."

"Just making sure." Draco said with a smile.

"So it's almost midnight." Hermione pointed out as she glanced at her watch.

"Really? Holy, this night has just flown by. You've got to just love alcohol."

"Well I feel almost fine, just perhaps warm inside."

"That's because you barely drank any." Draco teased.

"I didn't want to make a fool of myself, especially in front of my parents."

"Then perhaps when we're back at Hogwarts I can get you nice and drunk for the first time. I'm curious as to how much alcohol it would take."

"You just want to see me make a fool of myself." Hermione laughed.

"It's almost midnight!" someone said loudly, gaining everyone's attention.

"10... 9... 8..." everyone seemed to desert what they were doing and find their friends or lovers.

"7... 6... 5..." Hermione looked over at Draco and smiled.

"4... 3... 2..." Now everyone in the room was chanting along with the person.

"1..." Hermione was completely shocked when Draco leaned down and captured her lips with his own.

She hadn't expected it so she stood there for a moment, shocked. But seconds later something happened she got lost in the kiss. It had been a long time since someone had kissed her, since someone had kissed her and meant it. She had grown so used to Ron's excuse for a kiss. Just a peck on the lips to make her shut up. Draco's kiss was so much different. There was something there, there was heat. It was more than she would have ever imagined.

As she got lost in the kiss she forgot everything. She forgot who she was, who he was, she forgot about the fact that they could never be together. She forgot about Ron and the horrible marriage they shared together. For that small moment in time she was just a teenage girl, lost in a kiss and she felt on top of the world. She felt his fingers curl through her hair and she pulled him closer. For a moment everything felt so right.

But no one can stay lost forever.

Hermione snapped back to reality and pulled away from the boy. Everything came back at once. Reality hit her like a canon right in the stomach. She felt her insides shatter. She couldn't do this. She couldn't let another boy hurt her like that.

"I- I..." Hermione stuttered, not even knowing what words she wished to get out.

Without a word she turned and once again fled a scene because of Draco Malfoy.

* * *

**A/N: So they finally kissed!**

**I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Next chapter everyone will be back at Hogwarts.**

**I'll try to post again soon.**

**Please review!  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey guys! Don't hate me for this chapter, no one's a saint over night.**

**I own nothing from Harry Potter, just in case you may have forgotten.**

**I've got to warn you guys now, I'm starting school on Monday. Usually that wouldn't be a problem but I have it set up with my principle to finish two grades this year, so my time table is extremely jammed and I'm going to have a ton of homework.**

**But the good news! I'm going to try to continue posting around four chapters a week, as I have been so far. But if I get to busy I promise to at least post a chapter on Friday and Saturday.**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter. **

* * *

"Are you okay, Hermione?" Luna asked in her usually dreamy voice.

Hermione looked up at the girl and nodded. But truthfully she wasn't even sure. It had been two weeks since they arrived back at Hogwarts and Hermione hadn't spoken to Draco since their kiss on New Years. He tried to talk to her, he even owled her a few times but she didn't reply. She didn't know if she had the right to be mad at him, or if she was even in fact mad at him but she knew that she was scared. Everything that had happened with Ron was to much. She didn't need any stupid relationship problems. Everything was so perfect. They were friends, they were so close. She felt so safe around him and then he had to go and fuck it up with a kiss. Boys could be so stupid!

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" Hermione asked, acting as though she had no idea what Luna was talking about.

Of course she knew. Ever since that night she had retreated back to the quiet self she had been when she was first thrown back in time. She had gone back to making excuses to go study and she would run off. To her dismay Luna had gotten into the habit of tagging along with her. Of course she didn't hate the girl for doing this, it was actually quite nice. Everyone else came on to strong. Luna gave her the space she needed.

"Just a vibe. You seem like you've been sad lately." Luna stared at her with a classic Luna expression, "Have you by chance come in contact with a Slumky Hare during the holidays? They're quite known for causing a person to have false feelings of depression for no apparent reason."

Not wanting to get into some argument with Luna over her imaginary creatures Hermione shrugged.

"It's possible."

"You know, I think I can find some Hurkley Grass. That would clear it up. I'll try to get you some." Luna said enthusiastically and jumped up from her seat. In one quick motion the girl scooped up her books and hurried out of the library.

"Sometimes I worry about that girl." Hermione whispered to herself and turned her attention back to her studies.

"Hermione..." a voice said weakly from always behind her.

She didn't need to look to find out who it was. Of course he would be there. Sometimes when her friends would leave he would just happen to be there, as if he was waiting for the chance to get her alone. She couldn't take it anymore.

The girl didn't even waste her breath on any words toward Draco. She did as Luna had done just seconds before, she scooped up her things and quickly left the room.

"Hermione please talk to me." Draco chased after her.

Again she ignored the words he spoke and just kept walking. It almost seemed as though there was no way to get rid of the boy. Maybe the way she was acting wasn't fair but he didn't understand how horrible what he did was.

As the girl turned a corner she finally saw someone familiar.

"Harry!" she called out and chased after him and Katie, knowing that Draco wouldn't dare follow.

"Hey." the two Gryffindor's greeted her in unison as she approached them.

"How are you?" Katie asked in a worried voice that she usually used when asking Hermione this question.

"I'm fine." Hermione tried to assure the girl but Katie gave her a knowing look.

It was still that way with Katie. She didn't push when Hermione would deny her assumptions, but Hermione still felt like the girl could see right through her. The girl could see right past the acting, right past the lies. Hermione had been trying to avoid her for this reason. She knew Katie cared and had her best interest in mind, but it made her feel so naked. Like that girl was able to tear down the barrier that Hermione used to protect herself and keep everyone out.

"If you're sure." the girl eyed her for a moment and then started a new conversation.

Hermione spent the afternoon with Harry and Katie. For a while she was able to forget about the problems in her life. She was able to forget about Ron, about Draco and even the burn of her lips. Every time she thought about the kiss she could swear she could feel it. The heat, the loss of self, and she could almost feel passion. It tore her right back to that moment and it was causing a battle amongst herself. She couldn't let another boy ruin her life as she had done before. People never completely change, there was always part of them that stayed the same and Draco had never been a nice person before. How was she supposed to trust that now? But sadly for Hermione, the kiss wouldn't leave her alone. It was haunting her dreams.

"I've got to go meet up with Kyla." Katie stood up from the sofa.

"Okay, I'll see you later." Harry said in a soft voice that was so much different than how he had ever spoken to anyone before. Hermione couldn't help but smile at her best friend's interaction with his girlfriend.

"Okay, bye." she said, leaned down and kissed him, waved goodbye to Hermione and left the room.

"Want to go for a walk?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded, knowing that there wasn't really much else to do.

As the two exited the common room they passed Ron and Lavender as they were entering. The boy gave Hermione a stale look, but greeted Harry.

"So what's new?" Hermione asked lamely, wanting to choose her conversation carefully.

"Malfoy's still disappearing off the map." Harry said in a frustrated voice.

Hermione's stomach sank. Not only was it for the fact that he mentioned Draco, but because Hermione knew what he was doing.

"Are you sure you just aren't missing him? I mean, he couldn't get out of the castle." Hermione said in a weak voice.

She couldn't tell Harry what Draco was doing, without him questioning how she knew and she didn't want to betray Draco. She shouldn't even know to begin with.

"I thought so before but I couldn't be. I've looked everywhere. He's getting out of the castle somehow, Hermione." the boy sighed, "This is probably how he got whatever it was into the school."

Hermione frowned. She knew he was mostly right. Draco wasn't a good person. She had never necessarily heard his side of the story the last time around, but he let the Death Eaters into the school. He was the reason that Dumbledore was killed. The reason that Bill's face had never been the same. The reason so many students faced torture at school after their headmaster fell when Voldemort gained control of the school, making Snape his Headmaster.

"Harry, you can't prove any of this. The castle is more guarded than ever. Do you really think that Dr-Malfoy could sneak around like that, right under Dumbledore's nose?" Hermione asked, hating herself for her words.

All she could do was act the same way she had the time previously. And she couldn't tell anyway because she didn't know what effect it would have on the current time. Things could spiral out of control, she would never know the outcome. The climax of the war could start sooner, the ministry could fall sooner, and in the end Voldemort could win if she changed things to much.

"But Hermione, he's a Death Eater. I'm telling you. Dumbledore's a genius but he doesn't know everything." Harry argued.

"Harry I really don't want to talk about this anymore. I know it's important to you. I'm sorry that I don't agree, I just don't see how it's possible that he's doing it. Maybe the map is wrong."

"It's never wrong."

"Harry... please." Hermione said weakly.

She couldn't think about the situation anymore. It felt like the weight of the wizarding world was suddenly resting on her shoulders. With one wrong move she could change the fate of everyone around her.

Hermione couldn't control it anymore. She suddenly broke down in tears. Everything seemed like it was going so well and then this huge weight had to come back to haunt her.

"Hermione are you okay?" Harry's voice seemed a bit panicked, "I really didn't mean to upset you."

"It's not you Harry." Hermione hiccuped.

Harry pulled his best friend into a hug and stood there for a moment, holding her in his arms.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Hermione closed her eyes tightly together and buried her face into her best friend's chest. She couldn't tell him what was wrong. Seriously, how bizarre was the story anyway? She was married to an abusive Ron, at work she was trying to fix a clock and got sent back in time, then after a bunch of drama with her friends she became best friends with Malfoy, she invited him home for Christmas and then he kissed her at a New Years party, scaring her away, and now she has to deal with the weight of the possibility of accidentally changing history? She wasn't sure if he would take that story as nicely as she would want.

"Hermione, come on. You know you can tell me anything." Harry whispered.

"No, Harry. I can't." the girl sobbed.

She wanted nothing more than to share the complicated story with Harry. He was like a brother to her and she knew that she could count on him.

"What?" Harry asked, his voice seemed taken aback.

Hermione stepped back and looked at him.

"It's not because of you Harry. It's not that I don't trust you, I do. I trust you more than anyone yes. You're the one person I know I can always count on." Hermione let out a sob, "I'm just not ready to talk about it yet. I don't know if I could talk about it at all."

Harry nodded slightly and gave the girl another tight hug.

"Okay." he accepted her explanation, "I'm here when you're ready to talk. Whenever you need me."

"I know, thank you Harry."

Harry, Katie, Hermione and Luna all sat in three broom sticks, enjoying a hot cup of butter beer. A trip to Hogsmeade had come up and the three insisted that Hermione join them.

"So Luna, tell me more about these Nargles." Katie asked and began to listen to Luna babble on about her made up creature.

Katie seemed fascinated by Luna's little world, rather than just rolling her eyes like everyone else. It seemed to Hermione that maybe Katie had a little world of her own. She had never seen anyone get along with Luna so well before. Hermione couldn't help but smile at the girls. Sure, maybe they were a little weird but she was glad to have friends like them, even if she couldn't stand their little imaginary worlds sometimes.

"And then I turned around and my shoes and books were gone. I knew it was the Nargles." Luna finished her story.

"You know, some of my stuff has been going missing lately. I bet it's been Nargles! Are they inside the castle?" Katie asked.

Harry and Hermione chuckled at the two, but neither of them seemed to notice.

"Yes, the problem hasn't been take care of because people seem unusually unaware of them. I could make you a necklace like mine if you want. It's suppose to keep them away." Luna offered.

"Oh I would love that!" Katie said excitedly.

"I think she's found her perfect match." Harry whispered to Hermione, he had a look of pure amusement on his face.

"Have you heard of the Rotfang Conspiracy?" Luna asked.

The next half an hour was spent by Luna explaining to Katie that the Aurors were really working against Ministry, using a combination of Dark Magic and gum disease to take over. Hermione could almost swear she had heard Luna talk about it before, but she couldn't recall from when. Apparently Harry had already endured the story before though.

"We should head back to the castle, it's going to get colder as it gets later." Harry pointed out.

The three girls nodded in agreement and stood up. They bundled themselves up and headed for the door. The four of them walked silently, as their scarves prevented them from talking. Outside was mostly empty except for a few students scurrying between the shops or heading back to the school.

Voices up ahead carried back. A few students seemed to be confronting another in worried voices. Something about the situation seemed oddly familiar to Hermione, in almost an eerie way. That's when it clicked in her mind that it was uncomfortably like the time in her previous sixth year when Katie Bell had touched the cursed necklace. She knew she must be wrong though. That happened in October last time so it would have happened months ago, and the Gryffindor chaser didn't even appear to be in the group.

As they neared closer to the school the voices got louder and Hermione's stomach began to twist and knot. Something was wrong, she could feel it. She had never believed in any of that stupid Divination stuff but there was something screaming at her that everything was about to go south.

And then as if on cue, a scream came from up above. It sounded so much like the scream that Katie Bell had let out seven years ago. A small girl ahead fell to the ground and seconds later she was rising in the air, only to let out another blood churning shriek. Seconds later she crumpled back to the ground.

Without hesitation Hermione took off toward the group of other people. They were all panicking, but they looked as though they were older than she was.

"You guys pick her up, someone go get help." Hermione ordered. Hermione leaned down and picked the necklace with the wrapping that had fallen off of it.

"Hermione what happened?" Harry was suddenly behind her as two of the group members dashed off toward the school.

"She touched a cursed necklace." Hermione said weakly.

"That's a necklace from Borgin and Burkes..." Harry's voice trailed off.

She knew he would catch on right away. Harry wasn't a stupid and sadly Hermione wasn't stupid either. She hated knowing that Draco had done this. It failed a second time, the same as it had the first so obviously it was destined to fail. Was he really that careless toward other peoples lives?

* * *

**A/N: I know! The nice side of Draco is great, but I can't get off plot. **

**And I know you're probably disappointed they aren't jumping into one another's arms with forgiveness but it brought back a lot of the pain she was just getting over.**

**About the necklace, yes, I changed it from J.K Rowling's story line.**

**As Dumbledore had pointed out in the tower before Snape killed him, Draco didn't really put his heart into it so there was no chance of it ever making it to it's true target.**

**Draco had originally gotten distracted, not by Hermione I'm going to say that he was really into work with the cupboard but now that he's lost the only person he has to talk to, he's feeling more angered and just wants to get it over with, so he did the plan that he had thought about doing before. **

**This time it wasn't Katie Bell because honestly, what are the chances of it still being her? And in the next chapter it will explain that it didn't exactly happen the same way either. **

**Long Author's note, I just thought I'd clear some things up. So what do you think of Katie? I thought it would be cute if she and Luna ended up being best friends.**

**Luna never really had a best friend, and we all need someone so in the beginning I had decided to create Katie for Luna, she just somehow ended up with Harry, but I like that development.**

**Hopefully there will be more Luna/Katie moments to come. **

**Hope you guys liked it!**

**Please review!**

**Have an awesome day.  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I own nothing, still, well at least nothing from the Harry Potter book. But this is totally my plot. I know, I'm slowly becoming a genius, too! (Totally kidding)**

**Well guys, I decided I would update one more time before I have to go back to school tomorrow. **

**Thank you to those of you who reviewed, but I'm kind of wondering if some of you think I'm stupid. It sounded like some of you thought I'll never allow her to tell anyone, I wouldn't be bringing it up so much if it wasn't important.**

**And obviously Hermione and Draco will be friends and such, this is a Dramonie story after all. v.v**

**Before I forget, WARNING: This chapter contains violence, swearing, suggestion of rape and mention of rape. But no, don't worry it's not going to be stupid. **

**Also, be warned that for the first bit in this chapter you may be insanely confused. Just keep reading! It works itself out, I promise.**

**This is the longest chapter I've posted so far, yay for me. And thank you guys for reading =] Yesterday I surpassed my 11, 000th hit on this story.**

**I would like to dedicate this chapter to RandomStuff4all and Gaara's Plaything.**

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it's my favorite so far.

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Reality Returns.**

* * *

Hermione cracked her eyes open a bit as she began to awake from her peaceful slumber. The girl let out a yawn and stretched in the bed before pushing herself up into a sitting position. She sat there for a moment, allowing her eyes to adjust to the light and then opened them. But when she opened her eyes she wasn't happy by what she saw. Her heart began to race. What the hell was going on? No, it couldn't be happening. There was no way, it wasn't possible. She had been rid of it for months. So why was she in the room she had once shared with her husband, Ronald Weasley.

"Oh my god." Hermione jumped out of the bed and looked around, not able to comprehend the sudden change of location.

The girls hands moved to the sides of her head, her fingers curled into her hair and she looked around the room, feeling close to a heart attack. She couldn't be there, she had been sent back in time. She was supposed to be reliving her life as a sixteen year old. She was supposed to be at Hogwarts, with Harry, she was supposed to be avoiding Draco Malfoy. This couldn't be right, it couldn't be real. Was it messed up that she believed the other story was more likely than her current situation? Standing in the room she had lived in for five years.

"You're awake." A cold voice came from the doorway, located a few feet behind her.

Hermione whipped around and saw her husband standing there, with the same facial expression he usually wore around her. He looked angry, and not just any kind of angry. She only ever saw him this angry when she really messed up. If it was even possible her heart rate quickened. The girl couldn't even force a sound out of her mouth so she just nodded, wide eyed and frightened.

"It's about bloody time. You've been out for weeks. The healers said you should have woken up already." He growled and stepped closer, "Do you think this is okay? They reckon it was a suicide attempt. Said you fucked with a magically cursed clock to try to kill yourself."

When she said nothing he took another step closer. No, this couldn't be happening. It couldn't be. Everything that had happened really was fake. She had never gone back. She had never befriended Draco. She had never seen Harry again. This couldn't be happening, it just couldn't be. Everything had gotten so much better. Sure, maybe she had acted a little stupid. Maybe she shouldn't have ran away from Draco, but it couldn't have been fake.

"They said you had been telling people I was abusive." He growled again, "I've never been abusive you lying bitch. I've never laid a bloody hand on you. You want me to be abusive? I'll show you abusive!"

Before Hermione could even make a move Ron raised his hand and slapped her right across the face, leaving a clearly visible hand print as his hand retracted. The lack of contact only lasted for a moment as his hand pulled back further and slapped her again, harder this time. The loud smack against her face rang through the room and she stood there, tears filling her eyes at the sting of her cheek.

"You think I'm fucking abusive? You little whore, trying to seduce my best friend behind my back."

"I- I-... all I did was write him a letter." The girl whimpered.

"Did I give you permission to speak?" Ron snapped.

His hand pulled back again, threatening to swing any second. She barely considered her next movements as they happened. She did all she could do, she raised her knee in one quick motion and drove it into his sensitive area. A pained expression crossed the mans face as his hands quickly retracted to cover his groin area, as though it would seize the pain. While Ron was distracted, Hermione took this opportunity to quickly dart around him and out of the room. The girl dashed down the stairs, almost missing her next target several times but she manged to get to the bottom without falling. By the time she had reached the landing below she heard heavy footsteps pounding upstairs.

She knew what she needed to do. She needed to get out of the house and apparate away. She would go to the burrow. She would tell them the truth, she would get their help. She had been defenseless for to long. It was in that moment that she finally admitted to herself she needed help. It wasn't right for her to be treated this way. Maybe it was all because of a dream, but that small feeling of freedom had taught her so much. She had been trapped in a spiral for so long, she couldn't allow it to go on any longer.

Without having to tell herself twice, the girl darted toward the front door, Ron was just beginning to descend down the stairs so she had a good head start to him. She should have been able to make it. As she reached the door she fumbled with the lock and quickly whipped it open and ran through, slamming it behind her in hopes that it would slow Ron down, if only for a second. But as she crossed through the scene before her quickly slipped away and instead became a small enclosed closet.

What had just happened? He he put some kind of charm on the door, preventing her escape? She couldn't even try to get around it, she didn't have her wand. She didn't even know where it was, but she knew that any moment the door would fly open and Ron would have captured her. This couldn't be happening. Of all the people in the world, why was she the one to end up with such crappy luck?

The girl began to bang on the walls of the closet, trying to break free of whatever barrier Ron had put there.

"Please, anyone, help." She screamed as her sore fits banged against the wall.

Suddenly it felt like the walls had shifted and the space containing her had somehow gotten tighter. The girl whipped around to see that the door had disappeared. Had he trapped her? Was he going to kill her? The walls slowly started to inch closer together, giving her less and less space to move. Why was this happening? It wasn't fair. She had never done anything but try to love the man. As she walls continued to come toward her she wondered if her life was about to end. She began to wonder how she could have been so stupid. She had been given the chance to be happy. Sure, maybe none of it had actually existed but those were the best months she had experienced in years. And again, maybe it wasn't real but the fake Draco had been so sweet. He had cared and then he kissed her. He could have loved her; loved her in a way that Ron never had but she let her fear control her. She pushed him away when she could have pulled him in. She could have been even happier for the little time that had remained to her dream. She could have experienced true love before her husband killed her... And as the walls slowly restricted her movement she began to realize that maybe she had liked the fake Draco after all. She was so incredibly stupid.

"Draco." Hermione whispered and her mind ran back to what it had created Draco to be.

The girl squirmed as she sobbed. She could no longer move her arms and the feeling of claustrophobia suddenly set in. The inability to move her arms or legs made her want to scream. Pressure began to increase as the walls crushed her. This was it, this was the last moment of her life and she knew it.

To her surprise everything suddenly changed. She was no longer in the closet but she appeared to be in a dark forest. The girl looked around, more confused than she had ever been. What was going on? Was this Ron trying to fuck with her brain? Trying to give her a taste of pay back? Whatever was going on was starting to scare her. It didn't feel normal anymore.

"You're so stupid." the girl heard her own voice echo through the air, but her lips had not moved, it wasn't her that had spoken those words.

The girl spun around several times, quickly trying to locate where her voice had come from.

"Always trying to be so smart, but you're to oblivious to everything that's right in front of you." the voice said again, it was her voice, she knew it but it was so much colder.

Hermione froze where she was, waiting to listen for the voice again but then a figure stepped out from the shadows. As she had expected, it had been her voice. The person before her looked identical to herself. But it wasn't possible...

"W-who are you?" Hermione asked, her body trembling as she did.

"Really? Are you that thick. Who do you think I am dimwit?" The other Hermione snapped and rolled her eyes.

"Why are you me?" Hermione asked, almost groaning at how stupid her words sounded.

"Because I am you. Or, how do you know that you aren't me?" The voice asked, it almost sound as though they were speaking in riddles. But the words were enough to cause her brain to scramble even further into confusion.

"What do you want?" Hermione took a step away from the person who looked like her. She couldn't let them fool her, she knew she was the real one.

"Just to tell you how stupid you are. Funny, funny girl. You know that?" The voice drawled, almost like Snape but in her own voice instead, "After such misery, most people would gladly jump on the first opportunity to be happy. You knew you liked him, didn't you? But such a stupid girl had to let him slip away from you."

The other Hermione paused for a moment, laughing coldly.

"You were to proud to admit that the great Hermione Granger could ever fall for someone like Draco Malfoy. Stupid girl." The voice was now talking sweetly, as Bellatrix would to her prey.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Hermione tried but the other Hermione only laughed again and shook her head at the girl.

"Do you really think you can lie to me? We are the same person after all? I just happen to be a part of you that you don't allow loose. I just happen to be the better, strong part of you." The other Hermione said as she began to step closer.

Hermione's eyes widened and she began to step back, not wanting to let the clone anywhere near her. But her luck ran short when her back seemed to press against some kind of wall. She looked back but there was nothing there. She tried to get through again but she found herself trapped, yet again.

"You know Hermione, you judged him so harshly for what you knew wasn't his fault." The impostor said as it continued to step closer, "But you had the same potential inside of you all along. Think of how it could have been," she was now right in front of her, "You could have been with Draco. You could have let me out and together you could have worked together. You could have been so strong. With you the Dark Lord could have won. You would be so powerful and praised. So well known. No one would ever treat you that way again." The other whispered.

Suddenly an image of Ron slapping her was pushed into her mind, as though the impostor were putting it there herself.

"Never!" Hermione spat, "I would never turn my back on all of those who needed me. I would never turn my back on Harry!" Hermione screamed at the woman, feeling slightly more brave than she had been before. She didn't care if she was killed anymore. She just wanted to escape whatever was happening to her.

"Tisk, tisk, tisk," The clone mocked her, "You would expect suck a powerful young lady to respect herself more than that."

"What do you want." Hermione demanded.

"Oh, dear. I'm just here to prove to you what you wanted, and rub it in your face." The evil Hermione laughed.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Tell me darling, does this not bother you?"

The woman slowly stepped back until she was a few feet away from Hermione. In the blink of an eye she was gone and a different woman was standing in her place. Hermione had never seen the woman before, but she had never seen a more beautiful being in her life. Everything about her seemed so completely flawless. And then a man slowly made his way out of the trees. He walked right past her, his eyes set on the divine creature before them. She didn't have to look twice to realize it was Draco Malfoy strutting toward the other woman. Without warning the blond pulled the other woman into a passionate kiss.

Hermione didn't know what to do. She stood there frozen, watching Draco kiss the other woman. She couldn't deny to herself that a pain shot across her chest. It hurt to see.

"Oh Draco." The other woman giggled as they pulled apart, "But what about that Granger girl?" The woman spoke as though Hermione wasn't even there.

"Oh, that stupid mudblood? Who cares?" Draco laughed, "She obviously couldn't compare to someone like you." He then pulled her into another kiss.

"So was I right?" Her own voice whispered from behind her, causing her to jump.

The girl turned around and there the clone stood, again, with a sick smile on her face. All Hermione could do was nod sadly. She had been right, she had liked Draco back and she had lost the chance. She could never compare to someone like that.

And then again without warning the room changed again. She was back in the closet, the door opened and suddenly she was being pulled out. The next thing she knew she was being thrown to the floor and Ron stood above her.

"You little slut." He raged, "I'll teach you a lesson. Dreaming about other men. I should have never married a tramp like you."

The man raised his wand and started at Hermione for a moment. She wasn't sure what to expect but the look on his face was enough to scare even Lord Voldemort.

"Sweet dreams." He laughed and suddenly a flash of green light emitted from his wand and everything went back.

Hermione sat up in her bed, gasping for air. As her eyes darted quickly around the room she began to realize it had all been a nightmare.

"It wasn't real, it wasn't real." She whispered to herself, her arms were clutched over her chest as though she were trying to stop her heart from jumping out.

Her heart rate slowly decreased as she sat there. Eventually the woman had calmed down completely. She knew that the whole dream had been her self conscious. It hadn't been very subtle but the point had gotten across. Not being able to talk to Draco was killing her. Maybe it was about time to forgive him.

Ever since the Hogsmeade trip she hadn't been able to get him off her mind. She knew exactly what had happened, even if other people didn't. Rosmerta was under the imperious curse. She had slipped the necklace to a male student when he had gone back to use the loo. She put him under the curse to so that he would obey her, she had demanded him to take it to Dumbledore and he tried to. The rest of the story had been shared by the group of shook up students.

"We were just sitting there, waiting for him to come back," A small girl said, her voice gave away how shaken up she was by the situation, "Then he came out and walked right past us. We were confused so we paid and chased after him. We tried to get him to stop but he wouldn't listen. He told us that he had to deliver the package. We tried to ask who it was for but he wouldn't tell us, he just kept saying, 'must deliver, must deliver'." The girl broke down in sobs.

"We tried to take it from him but he wouldn't let us. Then Arabella managed to grab it and tired to take it away but it ripped and I guess it touched her. Suddenly she was screaming and she fell over and then she was in the air and then... I don't know." A boy continued the story, "It was all so confusing."

"It's all my fault." Mark Jemerz said, "It's my fault she might die."

"It's not your fault, Mr. Jemerz," McGonagall had tried to comfort him, "You were under a forbidden curse. You couldn't help it."

"I can't even remember who it was," He said weakly, "I'm such a horrible person."

Needless to say Mark wasn't convinced and Arabella had been sent to St. Mungos. It was hard for her to believe that Draco had actually done such a thing. When they had spent time together he had shown a side of her and she had forgotten what she was capable of. But these feelings... obviously she couldn't just stuff them away. They were already driving her insane. Did she really have to have a crush on someone like Draco Malfoy?

The girl sat there and sorted through her thoughts. She had grown so used to Malfoy being there that she felt like she needed him there. I was a sad day, but at the same time she couldn't really bring herself to believe that. Maybe liking Draco Malfoy wouldn't be so bad. Maybe he would understand if she wasn't quite ready for a relationship yet. She missed him as a friend, as that person that she could rely on to talk to. And she knew she needed to talk to him. This couldn't go on.

She wanted to avoid doing it. Her dream was right. She was to proud for her own good so of course she didn't like to admit that she was wrong. She didn't know telling people she had over reacted. It meant admitting defeat and growing up during the war made her fight to the end, so what she was doing was against all of her natural instincts.

"Just swallow your pride and get it over with." The girl whispered to herself as she pulled her clothes on.

Nervously the girl exited the girls dorms and marched through the common room. She just wanted to get it over with. Thankfully no one tried to approached her as she wandered down the hallway, looking for Draco. Where would she go to find him? Chances were he wasn't in the library, even if he was in the Great Hall she wouldn't be able to approach him, so her guess was he was in the Room of Requirements. But she wouldn't be able to go talk to him there either. There was only one way to find out if he was in there.

The girl wandered along the corridor of the seventh floor. She was surprised to find no one keeping watch in the hallway so that meant Draco was somewhere else. Where else would he be? As the girl thought she wandered around the corridor her mind tried to create a list of places to look but she continued to come to blanks. Was this a sign? Maybe she didn't know as much about him as she would have liked to think.

Hermione turned the corner and stopped as blond hair caught her eyes. He was midway down the hall talking to a few of his Slytherin friends. Pansy Parkinson hung off him lustfully. The girl swallowed hard and stood there for a moment, just staring. Maybe it was to late after all. The girl slowly made her way down the hallway. Had she still been mad at Draco she would have turned and rushed away. She walked as slowly as she could without looking suspicious, hoping to catch his eye, if only for a second.

She got what she wanted, there eyes met for a second. His eyes seemed different. Colder, distant, slightly betrayed. Maybe it was just a trick of the light.

"Mudblood." Pansy called after her.

Hermione froze for a moment. Normally she had the strength to keep her cool, give or take a few times, such as when she had punched Draco in their third year. But part of her was wanting to snap in that moment. She was there hanging off of Draco and calling her a mudblood. Dear Merlin, was she jealous? She knew that she couldn't do anything about it so she started walking again.

"Awe, poor mudblood has no backbone." Pansy sneered after her.

Hermione turned around and glared at the girl.

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked.

"Pansy just drop it." Draco demanded.

"What? Standing up for the little mudblood?" Pansy asked, shocked.

"No Pansy I'm just not in the mood for this right now." Draco said, giving her a cold look that made the girl shrink away, "Just let the mudblood be for now."

Hermione didn't say anything else, she just walked away.

"I'm really sorry about earlier." A voice whispered behind her.

Hermione looked up from her book and there he stood. Her stomach knotted. What was she supposed to do?

"Hermione look," Draco said softly as he pulled out the chair next to her and sat down, "I'm really sorry for kissing you. I... I didn't know that it would cause this to happen."

Hermione frowned and sat there for a moment, "I over reacted and I'm sorry, too. I was looking for you earlier. I know it was selfish of me to shun you for that but it was just to much for me." Hermione looked away, feeling a little ashamed.

"I didn't know."

"I know." Hermione sighed for a moment. What did she really have to lose?

"Come with me." She said after a moment and hopped up from where they were sitting.

She made her way out of the library and started down the corridor. All of the nerves in her body were jumping about. She couldn't believe that she was about to do. All she knew was she had to get it done before she changed her mind, because after that she wasn't sure if she would ever have the courage to do it again. Most wouldn't understand big of a deal this was for her. It made her feel weak and worthless. What would he think of her?

When she reached the Room of Requirements she paced back and forth in front of it three times until a door appeared. Draco just stood there, staring curiously because he obviously had no clue what the girl was up to.

The room they entered was simple. It was the room they had entered many times before. It was just a small room with a love seat and a chair by a fire, but now there was a pensive sitting in the corner. Hermione moved over to it and pushed her wand to her temple, extracting several memories from her mind, dropping them into the basin.

"I don't know how to tell you in words so I figured I might as well just show you. I don't even think you would believe me if I didn't..." Her voice trailed off for a moment, "But this is why I've been so stressed out, why I hate Ron, why I reacted the way I did when you kissed me."

"Hermione, what's going on?" He stepped closer, she could see the worried look on his face. Maybe he thought she was crazy.

"Just follow me." She whispered again and leaned over the basin, letting her face penetrate the water.

Suddenly she felt like she was falling. Her body fell through the air, towards the ground that was slowly coming closer to her. Instead of crashing into it she landed on her feet with ease and waited for Draco. Seconds later he was standing beside her.

They stood in a small loft. It was quite cozy, but nothing overly special. The furniture was tastefully placed around the room, each room seemed to have a color theme.

"Where are we?" He asked and Hermione pointed over to a small kitchen table where four people sat.

There sat an older Hermione, Ron, Harry and Ginny. Ron's hand was holding Hermione's on top of the table, they looked so happy.

"So what's this special news?" Ginny asked in an excited voice.

"We're getting married!" Ron said before she got the chance.

Harry and Ginny both expressed their delight at this news. Draco however looked over, confused.

Suddenly the scene changed and there were in the backyard of the burrow. Mrs. Weasley had insisted that the two get married there. Even though Fleur and Bill had, Hermione couldn't deny her future mother in law her wish so they did. Hermione and Ron stood in the front, many people sat in seats, just watching. For a few minutes Draco and Hermione watched the scene. Hermione could feel tears sting her eyes as she watched her older self. This had been one of the last moments of happiness for her. Of course things didn't go bad for a few months, but this was the last special thing she had ever gotten.

"I do." Ron finally spoke.

The words made her want to vomit but the look on Draco's face made it look as though he were feeling the same thing. Seconds later Ron and Hermione were leaning in for a kiss and when it was done the scene changed again.

"I won't be home until late tonight, don't wait up." Ron's voice had gotten slightly colder and his face gave away that he no longer showed interest in his life.

"Ron... what about our anniversary?" Hermione asked, a pained expression crossed her face.

The man before her simply shrugged, not really caring about the fact that he and his wife had now been married for a year.

"There will be others, won't there?" And with that the man left the house, closing the door loudly behind him, leaving his wife staring after her. You could almost see her heart breaking through her eyes.

Draco obviously had no idea what was going on but he reached out to Hermione and pulled her closer to him. He seemed to be disliking this as much as she was.

"Harry wants us to go over to his place for dinner tomorrow night." Hermione said as she and Ron got ready for bed.

Hermione rubbed some lotion on her hands as she walked over to her side of the bed. Ron just snorted in reply, as though he found some amusement in what she said.

"What?" Hermione asked, confused.

By this point he had been restricting what she was allowed to do and who she was allowed to see. Sometimes when he was with her she would be allowed to go see her parents or her friends, but it didn't happen often anymore.

"That's funny." Ron said as he pulled his shirt off and tossed it to the floor.

"How so?"

"Well I'll go, but you're not going anywhere near Harry." The man chuckled and pulled back the sheets.

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked, her voice was braver, as this was only during the beginning of the abuse.

"Do you really think I need you trying to get on my best friend behind my back? You can forget about seeing him anymore. Or any guys for that matter." Ron said in a voice that was clearly demanding.

"Ronald, you may be my husband but you have no right to tell me who I can and can't see. You haven't let me see my parents in almost three months, and the last time I got to see any of our friends was last month when you allowed Ginny to come over for dinner. I'm sick of this, you can't just keep me locked up in this house." Hermione snapped.

Ron glared at her for a moment and walked around the bed. Hermione didn't shrink back in fear as she would in later years, she stood strong and stared him down. The man grabbed her arm and squeezed it tightly, causing a small gasp of pain to escape her unkissed lips.

"You are my wife, Hermione." He whispered darkly, "Mine. You are mine to do what I want with. You are mine, do you get that? You do what I say. Now get undressed."

"What? No!" Hermione demanded.

"Wrong answer." Ron said and pushed her back onto the bed.

Draco didn't need to see what happened next to know what happened, so the scene skipped again.

"You're such a bastard!" Hermione shrieked, tears streamed furiously down her pained face.

"Shut you bloody mouth." Ron shouted back.

"How long has it been going on, Ron?" Hermione screamed, unable to control herself.

"Oh calm the fuck down, Hermione. Don't act like you didn't know about it the whole time." Ron said and rolled his eyes, "Stop being so god damn dramatic about it. If I want to fuck another woman, I will. It's your own fucking fault for not pleasing me." Ron snapped and moved closer so he was staring her in the eyes.

"I should have married someone more attractive." He muttered, "It's your own fault for being such a bloody mess." Ron turned and stepped down the hall, looking in the mirror. The man fixed his bow tie and looked over at his wife who had sank down the wall and was now sobbing on the floor.

"I'm going out now, you better stay put. I'll know if you don't, and trust me, you'll regret it." Ron exited the house, slamming the door and once again leaving his wife behind.

"Kids?" Ron laughed, as though her words were funny.

"What's so funny now." Hermione whimpered, it was getting a bit later in the marriage so she was starting to lose track of herself.

"Why would I want kids with you?"

"I.. I'm your wife."

"I don't want my children to inherit your looks." Ron said bitterly.

The scene changed yet again. This time it was Hermione laying alone in their bed sobbing, every so often she would glance at the clock. It now read 3:47 a.m. The sight of the clock only made her cry harder. She pulled her knees to her chest and just laid there. Hermione's heart ached as she watched herself. Her younger self was crying too as she watched, but Draco squeezed her comfortingly, not saying a word.

Sounds could hear heard down the hall so the woman in the bed closed her eyes and pretending to sleep. Ron entered the room and it was clear where he had been just by the look of him. His closed were wrinkled and the shirt was half hanging out of his pants. A few lipstick smudges could be seen on his neck and on the colar of his shirt. As he passed by her side of the bed he let out a low laugh before crawling in.

The scene changed again and it was just Hermione sitting alone in her office. The older Hermione was circling her wand around a clock when a sudden pecking came from the window.

"Oh great, what now?" The woman groaned and got up from her desk to let the owl in.

Seconds after she untied the letter from the owls leg it opened up on it's own.

"What the fuck is wrong with you! I thought we agreed that you wouldn't be speaking to other men!" The howler began to scald her, using Ron's voice. "How fucking stupid are you, Hermione? I told you I didn't want you talking to other men, so why has a letter from Harry just arrived? I don't give a damn if he's the boy who lived or our savior, I don't care, he's still a guy. I told you not to fucking talk to him. When you get home you're going to regret disobeying me. I swear to Merlin that you will you stupid tramp." The letter then burst into flames, leaving the older Hermione standing there wide eyed and speechless.

The woman was obviously a mess after this but being as stubborn as she was, she sat back down in her chair and tried to fight the thoughts out of her mind, once again circling her wand around the clock. Hermione could see herself getting distracted from the work. It was stupid but she didn't regret it anymore. The clock began to rapidly change color and rattle on the table but the girl didn't seem to notice.

"Everything will work out." The woman spoke to herself, "Maybe he will calm do-"

BOOOM!

"Hermione I don't understand." Draco whispered as everything faded to black.

"You will." She whispered back and soon enough they were standing in her dorm room.

For a few minutes they watched her reactions to waking up back in the past. They watched the panic, they listened to her speak to herself and Draco seemed to be catching on.

"Oh my god." Draco obviously didn't know what else to say but that.

The taller man stared at her with wide eyes and pulled her even tighter against his chest.

"Hermione, oh my god." He was obviously still trying to find the right words for the situation.

The stream of memories came to a halt and the two teenagers felt themselves floating up words and seconds later they were standing in the Room of Requirements again.

"That really happened to you?" He asked, his face was a jumble of emotions.

"Yeah..."Her voice trailed off and her eyes went to the ground in shame.

"I want to kill that stupid weasel." Draco hugged the girl again.

Hermione breathed in his scent deeply as he held her against him.

"You can't Draco. He doesn't know. And you can't kill him for something he hasn't even done yet." Hermione sighed.

"Yet? Wait... it's going to happen again?" He asked in a worried voice.

"Not if I don't let it, and I won't. Ron and I were supposed to get together at the end of this year. I'm never letting him do that to me again though." She looked at him, "That's why I freaked out when you kissed me. I got scared. This whole thing is still hard on me.."

"Hermione," Draco stepped back and cupped her face in his hands so he was staring at her, "You make it sound like it's so terrible that you aren't over it yet. He... he abused you, he..." The boy choked up a bit, "...he raped you, he cheated on you. I wouldn't expect you to be over that. If I had known I wouldn't have even tried anything. Look, I don't want to sound corny and I already feel terribly close to crossing that line but you're my best friend. I know that you might have trouble trusting me, sometimes you put your guard back up but I care about you. I don't want to hurt you and I would have never done that if I had known it would have." He promised.

Hermione nodded, "Thank you, Draco."

"So friends?" He asked.

"Yeah, friends." She agreed. It wasn't exactly the mission she had set out on, but for the time being it was absolutely perfect.

* * *

**A/N: =] So how did you guys like it? I know the dream was harsh but there's never really a limit to nightmares, and if you're going to write about one, it might as well be good.**

**So Hermione and Draco are friends again, yay. **

**If anyone replies trying to defend Ron again I think I might pull my hair out. I know he isn't a bad character, and personally I don't mind him, but in this fanfiction he does have a darkside.**

**If you don't like that I'm not sure why you're still reading this.**

**And no, I don't like Ginny, as a few have asked. She's actually tied for my least favorite character with Peter. **

**In the beginning books she was alright, a little creepy because of her obsessiveness toward Harry but she was alright, then she suddenly turned into a mary-sue and she and Harry hooked up.**

**I think she was to much of a fan girl to ever be the person he ended up with. =/ But that's just my opinion.**

**And I don't think that Hermione is being weak or pathetic. She's obviously traumatized and I think she has a right to be. No one goes through that kind of abuse for years and is all right and dandy. =/ Half the point of this story is her healing.**

**Please Review! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter.**

**Have a wonderful day guys.  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I own nothing, well nothing from the Harry Potter world. But this plot and a few minor things belong to me =] **

**Hey guys! Did you miss me? **

**Sorry for taking so long to reply, it's been driving me crazy.**

**As I told you before, I started school again but on top of that I got sick x.x **

**But I'm starting to feel better so hopefully I'll be back up to my usual posting.**

**Thank you to those of you who reviewed!**

**I would like to dedicate this chapter to Cupcake . Chan . 95 , helikesitheymikey and MrS . mOOny86 again because so far they've been my top reviewers and almost every time they make me smile.**

**Thanks so much guys.

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Malfoys Always Get What They Want  
**

* * *

Hermione sat in the Gryffindor common room with Katie and Harry. The three sat quietly but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. as it was slowly getting later in the year, the school work was slowly getting harder and the three were currently focused on their homework. Hermione was finishing up on a complicated potion's essay, Harry was supposed to be working on the same one but he had at some point gotten distracted by the Half-Blood Prince's version of their potions text book, and Katie was working on a charms essay. But they weren't the only ones, many of the older students were scattered around the common room, lost in their work.

"Hermione, have you ever heard of this spell?" Harry asked.

"Just a second." Hermione answered as she finished off one of her finishing paragraphs.

Hermione reread it quickly and then shifted her eyes away from the ink filled parchment.

"Okay, what?" Hermione asked him.

"This spell," Harry pointed at something scribbled in the margin of the text book, "have you ever heard of it?"

The bushy haired girl leaned a little bit closer and read the scribbled words.

_'Sectumsempra - for enemies.'_

Hermione's eyes shot open and she looked over at Harry with a cold look. She remembered what had happened the last time he had asked her that question. She hadn't known the answer at the time. But Harry had eventually found out for himself, after attacking Draco in a boy's bathroom. It turned out to be unlike most of the other spells in the book, this spell was actually Dark Magic. Just the thought of the smell caused the girl's skin to ripple. What were the chances he would try to use it on Draco again? She could remember Harry's description of what had happened. Just the mental image of Draco being sliced open in such a way made her feel like she were going to vomit. Later in the war she had seen it used, and just knowing what it looked like. She couldn't let it happen again...

"Harry, don't you ever use that spell on anyone." Hermione's voice snapped.

She hadn't meant to be so demanding, but she couldn't let him hurt Draco.

"I'm sorry." She whispered a second later, "Harry, that's really dark magic. It shouldn't be in any kind of text book where a student can read it."

"How dark?" The boy asked.

"Please Harry. Don't use it on anyone unless they're like... trying to kill you or something. I'd love to say exclusively for Death Eaters and Voldemort himself."

Harry just nodded at her. She had never not given him an explanation before, but in that moment she wasn't able to. If she even tried to describe the spell she would probably make herself sick. All she could do was hope that Harry would listen to her. He had to realize how important it was right? She had never reacted like that before, so maybe he would understand.

Hermione glanced over at Harry who was just staring at her with an expression that screamed suspicion. She felt stupid for not being able to tell him. But if she did tell him, would he still not use it on Draco? To be fair he had felt bad when he had used the curse on Draco the first time. But if Harry found out something he shouldn't, if his suspicions were proven true then what would happen? She didn't know how the time line was going to turn out anymore. She just couldn't risk it.

"I've got a letter for you." A small second year suddenly interrupted the tense moment.

Their eyes turned to the small Gryffindor boy, and then quickly to the small scroll in his hands. The tidy writing could partially be seen on it and Hermione knew at once it was from Dumbledore. He had been sending Harry these scrolls all year so that he could teach him about the Horcruxes and destroying Voldemort.

"It's from Dumbledore!" Harry said excitedly and reached out for the letter but the child pulled it away.

"It's for Ms. Granger." The boy said nervously, perhaps not wanting to upset the 'Chosen One'.

"What?" Harry and Hermione asked at the same time.

Hermione reached out and took the letter from the boy.

"Thank you." She said and he walked away.

The girl wasted no time in opening the small scroll.

_Ms. Granger,_

_If you had a spare moment, it would be greatly appreciated if you could stop by my office. _

_-Professor Dumbledore._

_P.S; Chocolate Frogs are quite delicious, aren't they?_

Hermione and Harry looked up from the letter at the same time. Clearly neither of them had any idea what Dumbledore could want so for a moment nothing was said.

"Is everything okay?" Katie asked causing Hermione to jump. For a moment she had forgotten the other girls presence.

"Oh, yeah. Dumbledore just wants to see me," Hermione said, "Probably about the extra credits I've applied for this year." She continued with a lie, she respected Katie and she trusted her but this could have to do with the Horcruxes and both Hermione and Harry had agreed to keep her in the dark for the time being.

"I'll see you guys later." Hermione assured the two and rushed out of the common room before any more questions could be asked. Hopefully Katie didn't know that you didn't get extra credit through any kind of applying process.

Hermione's mind raced as she made her way down the corridor. What did Dumbledore want with her? In her previous sixth year Dumbledore had never called a one on one between himself and Hermione. All of the meetings had been strictly for Harry. Of course Dumbledore encouraged Harry to share with Hermione and Ron, but never had he told anything to either of them. What changed that now made Dumbledore feel the need to share with her?

Soon enough Hermione reached the second floor and continued down another quiet corridor. Within moments she arrived at her desired destination. Hermione was now stopped to face a stone gargoyle. It was located about halfway down a corridor and to most it would appear to just be any old statue, but they were wrong. It was actually the entrance to the Headmasters Office. Of course, this was stated in the book 'Hogwarts: A History' but most people didn't bother to read it.

"Chocolate Frogs." Hermione spoke clearly.

In the blink of an eye the gargoyle hopped to the side, revealing a spiraled staircase. Hermione hurried up the stairs until she came face to face with a shabby wooden door. Hesitantly the sixteen year old lifted her hand and softly knocked on the door.

"Enter." A familiar voice came from the other side.

Hermione grasped the brass handle and pushed the door open.

"You wished to see me?" Hermione asked as she walked in.

"Yes, please take a seat Ms. Granger."

Hermione obeyed the older man without hesitation and quickly took a seat in one of the two plush seats which were placed on the other side of the desk from where he had been currently sitting.

"So what were you wanting to speak about Professor?"

"Time travel, Ms. Granger." Dumbledore said simply.

Hermione's eyes grew wide. How on earth did he know? Had Draco said something?

"How did yo-" But the Headmaster didn't allow her to finish her sentence.

"As you get older, Ms. Granger, you will have become so much more familiar with magic. When you get as old as me, you will have no problem with sensing magic, and as such a bright witch as you are, I'm certain you won't have trouble telling what kind of magic it is either. You see, magic always leaves a mark. Certain kinds of magic have patterns, different casters have signatures. It's all very complicated and most over look it. But not people like you and I, Ms. Granger," Dumbledore spoke, "People like you and I have the ability to expand our minds and see beyond the small details." His voice trailed off for a moment but Hermione said nothing.

"It started one October afternoon, Ms. Granger." Dumbledore started off again, but his tone had changed slightly, it was now the kind of voice you would hear someone take on as they were telling stories around a campfire, "As you and Mr. Potter were walking down to the Great Hall for lunch you passed me in the hall. Instantly I could sense powerful magic, and it was radiating off of you. It wasn't just any kind of magic though, Ms. Granger. It was time travel. But you see, the thing that confused me so was the fact that it had a much different pattern than that of a time turner, but it was time travel nonetheless.

"So I found myself curious. Over the next few days I kept a close eye on you. Needless to say you were acting much different than the last time I had seen you. All of you innocence and happiness had faded from your face. The way you carried yourself seemed weaker, much different from the confident and strong Gryffindor I have always known. It made me wonder Ms. Granger."

Dumbledore stood up from his desk and moved over by the window. He started out of it silently but Hermione knew he wasn't done. She could sense it so she waited to hear what he would say.

"Of course, all I have been able to do is guess. And of course if I were to venture a guess I would say that you had married Mr. Weasley. But it wasn't a pleasant marriage but instead one of abuse."

"Professor how could you possi-" Once again she was cut off.

"Well you and Mr. Weasley always seemed to be drawn to one another. It seemed fitting enough. Of course I always wondered if something would spark up between yourself and Mr. Potter," Hermione's cheeks flushed at the thought of herself and Harry. It just seemed so wrong, so she couldn't help the heat in her face, Dumbledore however seemed not to notice, "but I knew chances were better with Mr. Weasley. After this magic began radiating off of you I saw a difference in the way you acted towards Mr. Weasley. Only days before the two of you had been flirting shyly, it was obvious to many. But it all faded very quickly. Every time you looked at him I could see fear in your pained face, you began to avoid him and soon enough you stopped talking completely. It made sense. So I'm going to assume that I was correct?"

Hermione just nodded weakly. She always knew that Dumbledore was one of the greatest wizarding minds of all time, but she had never really experienced it as she was in that moment. It blew her mind how easy it was for him to see the things that she was able to keep hidden from everyone else.

"So I would like to ask you what happened." Dumbledore paced over and once again took her seat.

"One day at work I was upset with Ron. Because of Ron I worked as a part of the Accidental Magic Reversal Department. I was working on a clock that had been jinxed by a five year old who was beginning to show signs of magic and in the process of fixing it I got to distracted by my emotions and somehow I ended up back in time." Hermione said quietly.

"How interesting. And so far nothing has happened? You don't go back and forth between the two? Or you haven't had a run in with yourself?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"No. The only thing that I've really had to deal with is what is known to the muggles as 'The Butterfly Effect'." Hermione explained, "It basically means that any small thing that happens, has a chain reactions which causes many other things to happen. So if one goes back in time, and one small thing changes, then there will be a completely different chain reaction which could lead to a completely different outcome."

"How interesting. So am I to assume that the relationship between yourself and Mr. Malfoy is part of this so called 'Butterfly Effect'?" The headmaster asked.

Hermione's cheeks grew scarlet again, "Professor how do you know this time?"

"Well, Ms. Granger, I may be getting quite old but I am not blind. I see the way that he looks at you. I've noticed you both giving each other glances, an occasional smile when no one is looking. I even know that he went home with you for the holidays. As I have protection on yours and Mr. Weasley's houses because of your connection with Mr. Potter, I am quite aware of everyone that entered your house."

"Yes, it is part of that." Hermione admitted.

"So, I'm again, going to assume that you know what Mr. Malfoy is up to?" Dumbledore questioned.

Hermione swallowed hard and nodded, her stomach had suddenly turned.

"And does he succeed?" Dumbledore asked, when she didn't answer he added, "In killing me?"

Hermione nodded again.

"And the war, you know the outcome?" Dumbledore asked.

Hermione nodded once again, it was a bit easier this time. He seemed to take her silence as a good thing because a lighter expression crossed his face.

"Excellent." He said softly, "Ms. Granger. I have a favor to ask of you." Dumbledore said in a much more serious voice.

"Of course sir." Hermione said in a low voice. She had barely been able to mutter the words. Her words rarely failed her, so she wasn't sure why they were then.

"Unless Mr. Malfoy realizes that you know, because the looks he has been giving Mr. Weasley leads me to believe that he is more than aware of your little secret, I don't want you to bring it up with him. As hard as it may be, I would like you to allow him to finish what he needs to get done. By now you should already know that my death is my own choice. This is to protect Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore assured her.

Hermione nodded again, not sure what to say anymore. Was she really supposed to sit back and just let the greatest wizard of all time be killed?

"And I would like for you not to tell Harry anything. After I am dead, I am hoping you will be able to persuade Mr. Malfoy into safety."

Hermione left the office with to many thoughts racing through her head. She was supposed to sit back and let one of her best friends kill the greatest wizard she had ever known, while lying to her other best friend and letting his world crumble before his eyes. Dumbledore was such an important person to Harry. She saw what it had done to him the first time. Could she really just let that happen to him again? Well, it didn't look like she had much of a choice. How badly could things spin out of control if she accidentally let it slip?

Actually hearing Dumbledore say that he wanted Draco to kill him made her feel a bit better though. Was it actually murder if the victim intended for it to happen? The only reason Draco was even doing it was because of Voldemort's threats, and to be fair Draco hadn't even been able to do it. Snape had to do it for him in the end. It showed that at heart Draco was not a murderer. He was simply someone forced into something so much bigger than him, just because of his fathers stupid mistakes.

"Hey you." A voice said softly, causing Hermione to jump for the second time that day.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack." Hermione whispered back.

"I'm sorry." Draco said and wrapped an arm around her from behind, "We should go somewhere else."

Hermione looked around the deserted corridor and nodded. It was empty now but she knew that any moment someone else could pass by and they didn't need any rumors spreading around.

Fifteen minutes later Hermione and Draco were laying on a sofa in the room of requirements. Her head rested on his chest as she stared into the fire. They were both silent but that was alright. They didn't always need words to spend time together. For Hermione it was just comforting to have him around. He was the one person that knew exactly what Ron had done to her. His support had been helping her so much. He allowed her to rant, to cry, to do anything that made her feel better. And sometimes, just like anyone else, she just needed to be held. So there they lay.

"So who did I marry?" Draco asked, breaking the silence.

"Astoria Greengrass."

Draco let out a soft chuckle, "Was my father out of prison yet?"

"Yeah." She said, she almost told him that his family was pardoned after the war but she managed to keep it in. She didn't know what she was allowed to tell him.

"Looks like I never got away from an arranged marriage after all." Draco said with a sigh. His hand moved up to where Hermione's was resting on his chest and he laid his on top of hers, "The Greengrass' are distant family friends. I suppose since my mom called off the one with Pansy, he expected me to carry on the Pure-Blood line anyway."

"You know," Hermione said as she moved her gaze up to meet his, "just because that happened before doesn't mean it's your sealed fate. We were never friends before. You can always change something if you don't like it." She had a feeling that she shouldn't be giving him this advice but it didn't matter. She didn't want him to be unhappy, "Maybe what your father wants isn't always whats best. This is your life. You get to choose."

Draco stared at her for a moment and nodded. He looked away and stared at the roof for a moment, as though he were considering her words.

"You know, I've never actually thought about it that way before. It's always been about what my dad wants..." His voice trailed off.

"Well, clearly it isn't always that way. Maybe just the way your thoughts process. But if it was always about what your father wants would you be here right now?"

Draco chuckled, "Always out smarting me. You know, you may just be to clever for your own good."

"I'm not that much smarter than you are and you know it. You're easily the second smartest person in our year." She pointed out.

"And you know, you're not that much different than I am." He told her, it seemed random but she decided to just go with it.

"How so?"

"I always consider what my father wants, instead of what I want. You did the same thing with the weasel." He said softly, trying not to offend her.

Hermione sat there and contemplated his thoughts for a moment.

"Maybe we should just both start thinking for ourselves. We're both better off without other people telling us how to live our lives."

"I agree with you. Sometimes I just worry more about making my father proud than allowing myself to be happy. He always seemed so distant when I was younger, and now he's always so devoted to the Dark Lord. I suppose I just wanted to get his attention. I wanted him to be proud of me so maybe for once, he could just act like my father." Draco moved his fingers across her hand as though he were drawing patterns on it.

"That's the same reason that I let Ron do that to me for so long. I just wanted him to love me. It wasn't worth it though."

"Could you promise me something?" Draco asked.

"Of course."

"Don't let him hurt you like that again." Draco sighed.

"On one condition."

"What?"

"Don't lead your life based on your father's wishes."

"I couldn't do that. I'd have to ditch you."

Hermione laughed and rolled her eyes, "Well I'm glad that I'm important." She joked.

"You are." He assured her.

For a moment the two stared at each other. Hermione could feel the vibe of the room change but she couldn't bring herself to look away. There was just something about his gray eyes that held her captive in his gaze. For the second time since they became friends Draco leaned in and took her by surprise by simply grazing his lips against hers. The kiss didn't last more than a few seconds before Hermione pulled away. This time she didn't run.

"As unusually pleasant as that is. I just don't think I'm ready quiet yet." She whispered, the butterflies in her stomach seemed to disagree.

"I know, but someday you will be." He whispered, his face still extremely close to hers, "And I don't plan on giving up anytime soon."

"You know, I'm not just any girl. Who says I'll fall for your stupid charm?"

"No, you aren't just any girl. You're the only one that annoys me more than anyone else possibly can. You're the only one that listens to anything I have to say. And you already have fallen for my stupid charm. You just don't know it yet."

"You're so full of yourself." Hermione teased.

"No, I just know what I want." Draco assured her, "And you know what they say about Malfoys, don't you?"

"No, what do they say?" Hermione asked.

"They always get what they want." He said in a teasing voice.

Hermione's cheeks flushed as she stared into the fire. This time she chose to say nothing. He was openly admitting that he liked her. Sure, before he had kissed her and he had felt bad about it. But the kiss could have been just because. He was admitting he had feelings, feelings for her. Trying to imagine Draco having feelings for a person was actually kind of hard. For the whole time she had known him it seemed like the only person he could possibly care about was himself. And now of all people in the world he liked her, Hermione Granger.

"Are you sure this is real?" Hermione asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you sure this world is real? Because it's more bizarre than the one I left behind."

"Yeah, you're quite weird aren't you?"

Hermione laughed and playfully slapped him, "Oh shush, you know what I meant."

"Well, I can't prove it's real but I think it is."

The conversation died soon after that and they both continued to lay there. It wasn't long before Hermione felt her eyelids growing heavy and her body seemed to slump into place. A warm slumber was calling her name and she was to comfortable to leave so instead she let the feeling wash over her body and soon she was far away in her own little world.

"Hermione?" Draco whispered, "Are you awake?"

After a moment of no response Draco laid his head back so he was staring up at the roof. The boy let out a heavy sigh and softly stated, "I'm so sorry that I have to hurt you." And then he joined her in a silent slumber.

* * *

**A/N: Ahh! Cliffhanger! And not a nice one either. **

**I'm sorry guys but there is a plot to this . I hate to ruin such a fluffy moment but it had to happen.**

**This cliffhanger won't really be show for a while either, so it's just going to linger in the back of your minds.**

**To clear up some confusion, NO, Katie Bell is not the Katie that is Harry's girlfriend.**

**I hadn't planned on mentioning Katie Bell in the story but it ended up just coming up.**

**Hope you guys liked the chapter, even with the ending.**

**Please review guys =]**

**I'll try to post again really soon.  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: You guys already know that everything that has come out of the Harry Potter books belongs to J.K Rowling, and everything else belongs to me of course.**

**Sorry for taking so long again. I haven't been having a very good week.**

**The most unusual thing has happened, and to many it might not seem unusual but it's not something I'm used to; I can't stand my teacher.**

**I go to a student run school, but she seems to think she's king shit and can just do whatever she pleases. She reminds me of Umbridge, not going to lie. It's crazy.**

**And then for the first time in more than a year I got writers block. I tried all of these exercises and nothing worked, it's been terrible. I finally got over it. **

**I think you guys are going to like this chapter. So enjoy reading it.**

**And this time I'm going to dedicate the chapter to Chadley, my amazing friend who spent all week trying to help me get over my writers block.

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: A Plan In Action**

* * *

As the days slowly drifted into February, the weather had begun to slowly warm up. By mid February you could see the snow was starting to melt and some of the creatures were beginning to come out from their hiding places. This also meant that students were starting to leave the castle to enjoy the fresh air that they had chosen to neglect during the cold winter months.

The sixth year Gryffindor students were spending their afternoon outside of the castle walls. It had started with a few girls trying to make a snow man, and then a few of the guys started to help but soon after snow began flying through the air and moments later there were snow balls flying everywhere.

Hermione poked her head out from behind a tree. The boys had decided to gang up on her and after putting up quite the battle she managed to distract them and hide behind the tree. The battle now seemed to be all of the girls versus all of the guys and no one had noticed her disappearance yet. This was the perfect chance to strike and whoever her target would be, they wouldn't even know it was coming.

The sixteen year old girl leaned over and began to compact the melting snow into a tight ball. While doing this she made sure to keep an eye out. She was only hiding behind a tree so if someone looked up they might spot her from behind her hiding place and once again she could be ambushed. Hermione felt delighted as she stood up. No one had noticed her yet. Her eyes scanned the moving body of people, trying to decide who her target would be. She was going to go after Harry but for some reason she couldn't pick him out from the group.

'Splat.' Came the sound as she felt something hit her back, it was soon followed by a familiar laugh.

"Harry!" Hermione squealed as she whipped around, she could feel some of the snow had slipped down her jumper and was now venturing down her back.

Hermione whipped the snowball at Harry, which barely missed him, and then she began to do a funny looking jig as she hauled at her jumper, trying to get the bits of snow out.

The things that followed were like a flash. Hermione ran and Harry chased her. Eventually they were in the middle of fight. There were snowballs everywhere, no one was lucky enough to dodge them all.

Parvati and Lavender were squealing and trying to separate themselves for the fight while Seamus and Neville doubled up on them. Katie and Harry just seemed to find one another and Hermione found herself in a war with Dean. The fight continued on. Eventually Lavender and Parvati ran away, not wanting to be a part of the fight anymore and it left Katie and Hermione against the four boys.

After that things seemed to go down hill for the girls. It was two against one for each of them and they all knew that the girls were soon going to declare defeat.

"We give up!" Katie called as a few more snowballs hit her.

The boys all seized fire with satisfied smirks on their faces. For a moment the six of them stood there before they all burst out laughing. They earned weird looks by people who passed by. The six of them just stood there, soaked from the wet snow and laughing even though it appeared that nothing amusing was going on.

"I say we all go get some hot chocolate." Harry suggested.

The rest of them agreed and started heading towards the school again.

"You look like a drenched poodle." Dean joked as they entered the school.

If Hermione had a mirror she wouldn't have disagreed. Her naturally curly hair was half soaked and parts of it had gone flat, while other parts had poofed up from the constant movement so it sort of appeared to be a tumbleweed.

"Shut up." Hermione laughed.

The six of them passed Draco in the hall, no one seemed to notice but her. For a moment their eyes caught but they carried on. Hermione hadn't seen him in well over a week now. She understood that the boy was busy with his mission but she couldn't help but wish it wasn't taking up all of his time. To be fair though, he knew that he had distracted him before and he was probably far behind. His eyes seemed slightly colder as they passed one another. It was probably taking a lot out of him.

"Hermione?" a voice cut through her thoughts, "Did you hear me?" Katie asked.

"Oh, sorry, I got distracted for a moment. What did you say?" Hermione said quickly, and she wasn't lying.

"I was wondering if you were going to start up a study group for NEWTS this year." Katie asked.

Hermione thought about it for a moment. She had tried to start up a study group with Harry and Ron before but it had never worked. Ron never wanted to do any work so he would just goof off and then eventually he would distract Harry and it would just be Hermione by herself.

"I never thought about that, but it's actually a decent idea." Hermione admitted.

Of course there was hardly a need for a study group. Hermione had nearly aced every subject the first time around and she knew even more now than she had before. But maybe this time she would be able to ace every exam. It would be a dream come true for her.

The two girls discussed the idea of a study group while the boys went on about Quidditch. Before they knew it they were down in the dungeons, standing in front of a picture of a fruit bowl. Harry reached out and tickled the pear with his finger until it giggled and turned into a handle. A few of the others seemed surprised but Harry and Hermione had been in the kitchens many times during their Hogwarts days.

"Harry Potter!" A familiar, excited voice came.

A little elf ran over to them and bowed as low as he could, his nose touching the floor.

"Hey Dobby." Harry greeted the house elf.

"What can Dobby do for you today, Mr. Potter?" The elf asked.

"We just wanted to get some hot chocolate Dobby." Harry explained to the elf.

The small creature snapped his fingers and suddenly the six of them felt warmth cross their body. Hermione then realized that they had forgotten to charm themselves dry.

The elf received a few mutters of 'thanks' as he retreated away to get them their beverages.

Hermione noticed a few brooms and empty food crates in the corner and with a few flicks of her want she transformed them into a shabby table and a few mismatching chairs.

The six sat down, soon Dobby brought them some hot chocolate and little treats and they began to converse again. Soon the topic changed to things that were going on outside of Hogwarts. There were more disappearances every week. According to some reports the Auror department was desperate for new recruits. There were never to many at this point.

"After we get out of Hogwarts were going to be a part of it." Seamus pointed out.

None of them could deny it. They were just a year in a bit away from never being able to go back to the safety of Hogwarts. For Harry, Hermione and even Dean their time was far more limited, they just didn't know it yet. Hermione did of course. If she could she would want nothing more than to help find Dean somewhere to hide for what would most likely still be coming up in less than a year, and she would want to tell Harry about what was to come for them. Maybe if he was prepared for it, the Horcrux hunt wouldn't be so bad. But she could not say a word. It would change everything. Last time they survived and all she could do was hope that this time things would be the same.

"It's weird to think about." Katie admitted, "I mean, no one can stay away from it. Even though people wish they could linger and not be a part of it, it's not going to happen. We're all going to end up fighting someone we know. Not everyone is going to choose the right side..."

The others mummered in agreement.

"We can't even say it's just the Slytherins." Hermione was shocked by Harry's words, but perhaps less than the others because she knew the full story behind Peter Pettigrew, the Gryffindor who had betrayed his parents.

"Who do you reckon will go to the other side?" Neville asked hesitantly.

"Malfoy." Seamus said before anyone else could have any input.

Hermione would have expected this from Harry, but she knew everyone else was thinking the same thing. Draco's father had been imprisoned last year for being a follower. Naturally people would assume that it was in the family. And well they were right weren't they? As much as Hermione would have loved to deny it, Draco was indeed a Death Eater. Maybe it wasn't by choice but he was. Last time he was forced to fight for their side. Hopefully she would be able to change that. But it seemed like there was a slim chance, as Dumbledore expected her to just sit back and allow him to bring Death Eaters into the school, kill Dumbledore and change Hogwarts as all of the students had known it. A huge part of her was starting to worry that after that, there would be no more communication between herself and Draco. They would each have their own side. This time around one of them could easily die in the war, and if they didn't what would things be like if they met again afterward? She could hardly imagine it being the same, not after they had lived two completely different sides of the war.

In Draco's eyes she could foresee the light side being the bad guys. They would barge in and take everything from him. Maybe his father, or perhaps even worse, his mother. And when he was already unwilling to be on their side, the torture they may put him through.

The girl closed her eyes for a moment, trying to shake the thoughts away because she didn't want to have them anymore.

"Do you guys really think so?" Hermione said, she couldn't help but defend him, "I know that he's been an arrogant jerk our whole time here but he isn't exactly the most terrible person in the world."

"His father is a Death Eater." Neville pointed out.

"So?" Hermione asked.

"A lot of time people turn out how they are raised. We were all raised to stand up for what is right. He was raised to believe anyone that doesn't believe what his parents believe are scum." Dean suggested, "Maybe he won't turn out bad but I wouldn't bet anything on that."

"But look at Ginny. She was raised in a poor family but she always expects to get everything she wants." Hermione tried, "She's such a brat, but Mrs. Weasley never raised any of them to be that way."

"But Ginny was not only the youngest, but also the only girl. She got a lot more than any of the boys did. They had to share all of their things while she got everything to her own. Mrs. Weasley babied her for the longest time." Katie pointed out, "Maybe she didn't get the world but her parents sure tried to spoil her."

Hermione sighed with defeat. Obviously there was going to be no winning this argument so she wasn't going to bother digging herself any further down than she already had.

A few days later Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table with her friends. She stared over to the Slytherin table where all of Draco's friends were seated. Once again he was absent. She hadn't seen him since the day of the snow ball fight and even then she only saw him while passing him in the hall. She knew that he had work to do but she couldn't help but feel left out of his life. Every time he would disappear these feelings would come back. She felt forgotten. Although it shouldn't have mattered, it wasn't a very nice feeling.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked softly.

Hermione looked over to him, she just shook her head. His eyes lingered on her for a moment but he just nodded. She had told him that she would tell him things when she was ready and since then he hadn't pestered her about her problems. He showed his concern but when she blew him off he would simply back away. Hermione could tell it was hard for him to use such patience but she respected him so much for doing it.

Katie looked like she was about to add something but before she got the chance, an out burst from down their table distracted them.

"Ronald Weasley you... UGH!" Lavender screamed as she got up from the table, "Fine. If that's the way you feel then I don't want to speak to you again."

The girl continued with yet another one of her overly dramatic scenes as she rose from the table and rushed out of the hall, Parvati following closely after her. For a few seconds after the girl had left everyone stared in the direction of the incident but soon everyone went back to what they were doing. Thankfully Katie had forgotten about what they had been talking about just moments before.

"I think this has been a record amount of outbursts in the Great Hall in one year." Dean said before taking a bite of his potatoes.

"What do you reckon happened?" Neville asked, it wasn't an unknown fact that he disliked fighting and drama.

"I think he ditched her." Seamus told them, "He's been complaining about her a lot lately. He's been wanting to break things off for a while now. I'm surprised he waited so long to do it."

"I don't know. Parvati was gossiping about their secret romance behind Lavender's back. Maybe she found out about it." Katie said as she poured herself some more pumpkin juice.

"I wouldn't believe it." Dean shook his head, "When I was dating Ginny I sat beside Parvati in class just one day. We exchanged about five minutes of conversation and she was going around saying the same thing."

"There's a few screws loose in that one, I'm telling you." Seamus told him.

Hermione knew Parvati was one to gossip and make things up but she couldn't help but wonder if she was telling the truth this time. Hermione knew what Ron was capable of and she knew it better than anyone else. He had cheated on her for the longest time so she knew that there was a good chance that he would have cheated Lavender. But she couldn't bring it up with her friends. She couldn't tell them about her story so it would seem like she was making shallow assumptions.

"Hermione." She heard Draco's voice as she walked down the deserted corridor.

Hermione whipped around to search for the source of the voice. As soon as she turned around she saw him, standing just a few feet behind her. Something took over her and she rushed over, throwing her arms around the taller male.

"I missed you." Hermione admitted.

Part of her felt weak for admitting this or even acting this way. There wasn't anything going on between them. But then again, if it were Harry she would have done the same thing. The difference was these two things had completely different meanings. She could no longer deny to herself that Draco wasn't just her friend. She wanted it to be that way, she wanted more than anything to just get rid of the feelings but no matter how hard she tried it just wouldn't budge. She liked Draco and it wasn't just some silly little crush. She had genuine feelings for the man. No, she wasn't head over heels in love or anything but she liked him enough to know that if things continued on the way they were going, it was defiantly something that could happen in the future.

"I missed you, too" Draco said quietly and kissed the top of her bushy head.

Draco moved back a bit before he leaned in and captured her lips with his own. They weren't together and Draco was under the impression that it could be a long time before she was ready to even think about one but it didn't stop him from kissing her every chance that he got. He didn't bother hiding his feelings for her like she tried to do to him but it still scared her. Ron had been adorable to start and look at what he had turned into. But Draco wasn't anything like Ron and she knew it, as much as it scared her.

"What are you doing out so late?" He whispered as they pulled a part, "The castle isn't always safe."

"I have prefect patrols." She told him.

"I'm sorry I haven't been around lately." He told her, "I've been busy. Has everything been okay?"

"Yeah, has everything been okay for you?"

Draco bit at his lip a bit like he wanted to say something. Hermione knew that chances were he wasn't going to tell her anything. She had already thought about what it must be like to be in his position. If this had happened the first time around and she had found out what he was up to, there was no way that she would have understood. She would have hated him. But knowing all sides of the story, knowing what Dumbledore wanted and the deal between himself and Snape, it made things a lot different.

"Yeah, everything is alright." He said finally, but Hermione could tell that it wasn't completely the truth.

Draco took her hand and began to lead her away from the deserted hallway.

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked.

"Anywhere." Draco told her, "I'm probably going to be busy for a while. I don't know when the next time I'm going to get to spend time with you is, so I want to take the time now while I have the chance." He told her.

Hermione couldn't help but smile at Draco's words. His corny words shouldn't cause the butterflies to dance wildly in her stomach but they did. As much as she tried to deny it she was sure that Draco knew how she felt for him. But there were so many problems with it. They were from two completely different worlds. She was part of the Order and he was a Death Eater. She was a Gryffindor and he was a Slytherin. Her best friend was Harry Potter, the boy that Draco was supposed to be helping bring down. The things they were doing were forbidden beyond what most people could even imagine. They made Romeo and Juliet look like they were family friends. But Hermione wouldn't really compare their romance to such stories, they were far to cliche.

Five minutes later they were entering the room of requirements. She understood why they always went there. It was the only place they could get away from the rest of Hogwarts. The room was different this time though, it was a lot more full and it seemed more relaxing. It was a close replication of her parents living room. As she entered the room the comforting feeling of home instantly washed over her.

"I thought you would like this a bit more." Draco said and took a seat on the sofa.

Hermione's eyes skimmed the room as she took her seat next to him. Besides family photos and the few electronic devices, the room looked the same. But she knew there was no way around the small changes. The room gave you what you needed, but it couldn't replicate photos unless you brought them into the room yourself because anything you brought in would remain, and electronics didn't work on the Hogwarts grounds.

"Thank you." She told him.

She had never thought of doing this before, but she was glad that he did.

The two sat talking for a while. Obviously Draco hadn't been up to a lot lately, nothing that he would tell her anyway so it was mostly just her telling him about how her week had gone. Ron had rarely asked her about her day and when he did he would usually ended up getting distracted or he would cut in and start talking about himself. Draco didn't do that, he just sat and listened to what she had to say.

"Could I ask you something?" He asked.

"Of course."

"Do you like one of the guys from your house?"

Hermione couldn't help but chuckle at this. "No. Why would you think that?"

Draco shrugged, "It would make sense, I suppose. You've been friends with them since first year, you know them a lot better and you see them a lot. I was just wondering, you did fall for weasel last time."

"No, it's not any of the guys from my house that I like." Hermione felt her cheeks grow red.

She hadn't meant to speak those words and she wasn't sure how this was going to go over. She hadn't told Draco she liked him yet. What he didn't like her after all? What if she had read him wrong? He did have a known reputation for being a bit of a player. And was it really that weird for a teenage boy to express feelings he doesn't mean, just to hit the jackpot? No! She had to stop thinking like that. She knew it but for some reason the thoughts just kept coming back to her. It was so hard to just forget the things she had been through, but she knew it was important. Draco was better than Ron was, they were two completely different people. Why was it so hard?

"So you do like someone?" Draco eyed her curiously.

Hermione nodded, cheeks flushing even more.

"Hmm, and who might that be?" Draco said with a smirk, as though he knew what was coming.

Hermione mumbled something that Draco couldn't quite make out, only making his cocky smile grow a bit wider.

"What was that?" He leaned a bit closer.

Hermione shook her head, trying to suppress a smile.

"Oh come on, admit it Granger. You like me." Draco teased.

The moment reminded her of the one that they had shared in her kitchen a few months ago when she had admitted to him that she found him attractive.

"Oh fine." Hermione said, "I like you. It's weird, and I don't really understand it but I like you. You're supposed to be a person I can't stand. You're supposed to be a jerk, you're supposed to be what I'm fighting against. It makes no sense to-" The boy began to chuckle at her little rant, "Hey shut up. You need to deflate your ego a bit."

Draco began to laugh harder at this and Hermione joined in.

"I was serious." She added, "You get way to cocky when I admit these things."

"You like it." Draco pointed out, "And besides, I doubt there's anything wrong with a boost of confidence because I hear the things I want to hear."

"I thought you said you always get what you want. So wouldn't that make me right? Confidence is good, but if you always get what you want and get a confidence boost every time you get what you want, wouldn't that be to much confidence?" Hermione chuckled.

"I only get the confidence boost when I get something that I wanted and it's actually important." He informed her and kissed her again, "And for the record, I like you, too."

Hermione was in a better mood for the next few days. She hadn't been able to really see Draco again since then but when they passed one another in the hall they would exchange smiles and that only brightened her day. They weren't together or anything, at least she didn't think they were but the whole idea of this romance was making that silly love sick feeling take over. That strange unexplainable feeling you get at the beginning of a new romance, that powerful feeling. And this happy new attitude didn't go unnoticed.

"You've been in an unusually happy mood lately." Luna told her as they sat in the stands of the Quidditch Pitch, watching the team practice.

"I've just been having a really good week."

"Are you sure?" Luna asked, "Your week has seemed exceptionally normal. Perhaps some cheerflies have been getting into your dorm?"

Hermione looked over at the girl.

"Although they're pleasant they have a way of crawling into your ears and then they lay eggs. When the larva crawl into your brain you're even happier to start but then eventually your emotions are drained and you can no longer feel anything." Luna informed Hermione, "It sounds rather boring to me."

Hermione sighed softly. Sometimes she worried about Luna. Did she ever realize how bizarre these creatures she talked about were? The older girl often wondered where Luna even got these creatures from. Had these things been something that her parents had planted into her mind? Or simply something that she had made up on her own. Her father believed in them too so perhaps it was a combined effort.

"I don't think so Luna, but thank you for the suggestion." Hermione said in the kindest voice that she could muster.

She knew that none of Luna's creatures existed but arguing her wasn't going to solve anything, this was something Hermione had learned the first time around. So why try to ruin something that made her happy? Even if it was a little odd. But in all honesty, Luna's imaginary creatures did bother Hermione. She wished the girl could see sense, but you can't make people see sense, expecially if they don't want to see it.

And even more so Hermione was glad that Luna finally found a person that was able to talk to her about all the weird things she liked. She never would have expected it when she first met Katie, but since that day at three broomsticks she had been totally taken in by Luna's little world. Maybe she was just fascinated by Luna's imagination, or maybe she actually believed these things to be real, either way she still listened. She even listened to all of Luna's weird theories. But Hermione had to admit, as unbelievable as her theories were, they were amusing.

"Ooh, it looks like they're done." Luna hopped up, stumbling slightly at the weight of her Giant Lion had that she had chosen to wear.

Hermione followed Luna out of the stands and down to where the team members were standing.

"Alright, practice again on Saturday. We've got to be ready for the game coming up." Harry told them and they started to depart off to their locker rooms.

The two girls stood there for a moment silently as they waited for their friends to join them. Moment later Hermione, Luna, Katie and Harry were all walking back to Hogwarts.

"And the pumpleweaskle can be found in many areas located around Africa." Luna explained to Katie, "They're very distinct from the moonish skatrup because of their-"

"Wait up!" A voice called from distantly behind them.

They all turned their heads to see who was calling out to them and then they saw Ron running after them. Hermione froze slightly and without control she felt herself tense up. They hadn't been around each other in months. Now that he and Lavender had broken up did he think that he could just come hang out with them again? Knowing him he would probably try to start something, but it didn't matter. She had Draco. Or well... maybe she had Draco.

"Guys." Ron panted as he came to a hault in front of them, "Look..."

He stopped again to catch his breath. It didn't take long for him to do so and then he continued.

"I know I've been a jerk. Hermione, I shouldn't have said the things I did. You were right to ditch me. I understand now that there wasn't anything going on between us and I accept that, it's fine with me and I've moved on." Ron said, his voice seemed apologetic and his face looked sincere.

Hermione was so in shock that she couldn't say anything. This wasn't anything like Ron. Had something happened, causing a butterfly effect and in turn changing him? It wasn't impossible and she knew it. Draco seemed to have changed after all... so why couldn't Ron? But she couldn't be quick to let down her guard. She didn't even know if she were ready to acknowledge him as a person, let alone fix their friendship between them.

The girl could feel all eyes on her as she stood there, open mouth and at a loss of words.

"Come on Hermione. I really miss you guys." Ron pleaded, "I understand we won't ever have a thing and that's alright. I'd rather be your friend than not be a part of your life at all."

Hermione bit her lip nervously. She would seem like a terrible person if she just shot him down. Maybe he had changed but she would never know if she didn't give him the chance to prove it. She would never date him again, regardless. But she did miss the person he had been as a teenager, when they had just been friends and nothing more.

"Alright." Were the only words that she could manage to say.

She felt like she were betraying herself for even saying it. Her instincts were telling her to hex him all the way to Pluto but she decided it was because of all the abuse she had been put through.

"Thanks." He said cheerfully and pulled her into a hug, causing her to go even more tense, "I'll see you guys later."

Ron then turned around and began to run back to the Quidditch Pitch, leaving the four others staring after him. When he got back he entered the boys locker room. To anyone that had seen him, they would think that he was just up to anything normal. But those people wouldn't know the real Ronald Weasley.

As he made his further into the locker room he soon came to face someone that looked exactly like he did.

"Did it work, Gin?" The other Ron asked.

An evil looking grin split across the face of the Ron who had just entered the locker room.

"It did."

"Are you sure about this?" The real Ron asked nervously.

"Just trust me Ron." The impostor Ron told him, "When my plan is over, you'll have yours and I will have mine."

* * *

**A/N: So what did you guys think? You should have known it wouldn't be the last of the Weasleys!**

**And Hermione and Draco are so close to being together, it's so exciting! Hopefully nothing comes in the way again, DUN DUN DUN.**

**Don't worry, I might just be saying that to get your mind working. Maybe.**

**I'm growing rather fond of these imaginary creatures, they're so amusing to create. **

**So tell me what you guys think of the story so far.**

**What do you think of the Weasleys being back?**

**Do you guys have any cures to your writers block? You should leave me suggestions. **

**Have a great day.  
**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I don't think I even have to give the speech anymore, you guys know the drill.**

**Thanks for being so patient during my absence this week. I set out to cure my writers block and guess what guys! It worked. I tried your ideas and they were great.**

**Something that really worked for me was yoga/meditation. I started taking a class for it at school, I didn't think it worked but it does. **

**This was originally going to be two chapters but because you guys are so awesome I changed a few things and made it into two, trust me at the end you will understand why this is a treat.**

**After the next chapter things are going to pick up some speed, things are going to start happening and you're going to love it. At least I hope you will.**

**There were some points about this chapter that I didn't like but the final product was totally worth it. **

**Thank you guys for the messages that you've been sending me. It means a lot that you like my story so much. I honestly thought I was just going to post it and no one was going to read it, but it looks like I was wrong.**

**But I haven't spent this week doing nothing. I actually got a bunch of ideas for other stories, so after this there isn't going to be a long wait for those of you who are interested in reading other stories by me.**

**This chapter is dedicated to all of you who have continued reading this, those who have reviewed and those who have not. Thank you for pushing me and making my story what it is today. You guys are awesome.**

**Hope you enjoy it.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: Before Everything Fell Apart.  
**

* * *

A quickly as February had come it seemed to be disappearing. Ron began to follow Harry and Hermione around again. Harry had no problem with this, he seemed happy that his two best friends were getting along again. They weren't really though, Ron was putting in effort while Hermione was just putting up with his presence. It didn't feel like old times though. It felt forced and it was hard knowing what Ron really was. But since she had come back she had known that things probably wouldn't ever be the same again. So as much as she disliked it, it was nothing for her to beat herself up over.

"Why are you friends with him again?" Draco complained, this had begun to come up often.

Hermione realized that he was concerned and she understood why but she knew she could handle it now. It may be the man that put her through hell and back but she knew she could take care of herself now. He had a right to worry though, didn't he?

"I'm not." Hermione told him, yet again.

"But you guys are always together. He's been following you and Potter around like a lost dog." Draco explained, "And I see the way he looks at you. He wants you."

"But I don't want him and you know that." Hermione said softly and moved closer to the boy.

His arm wrapped around her as she got close, a smile crossed her face for a second and she rested her head against his shoulder.

"I know but I don't want to see you go down that path again. He got you the first time around." He whispered.

"That was different. I didn't know that's what he was going to be. And I'm a lot happier now." Hermione told him.

Draco smiled at her and kissed the side of her head softly. They acted like they were together all the time now. It was so weird for Hermione, but at the same time it felt so great. They still hadn't talked about them being together so for the moment it wasn't official but their feelings were clear. Sometimes Hermione wanted to ask about it but then she would remember their different places in the world and she would stop herself. Right now Draco shouldn't be worrying about her. If he didn't get the cabinet working then he would be killed.

"What if he tries to get you back." Draco whispered in her ear, "What if he starts to act like the charming guy that pulled you in."

Hermione shivered slightly and thought about it for a moment. It would be hard and she knew it. She had once loved him so much and she knew she would never love him like that again but it would still be hard. He had changed so much and it would be really hard to see the guy she had once expected to spend the rest of her life with. At one point he was the only one she could think about being with, she would sit with him like she was sitting with Draco, she would spend the night talking to him about random nothings. He had never meant any of those things though and Draco did. She wasn't about to plan her whole future around Draco, she knew that after what was coming they would probably never see one another again but for the time being this worked for her.

"I'll hex him back to Merlin's time."

Draco chuckled softly, "As long as you're sure."

"I am." Hermione smiled at him.

She sat there for a moment and took in his appearance. He was still handsome but his face looked tired and stressed out. He was noticeably thinner, having probably not eaten much. She could see how hard he was working on the cabinet, part of her felt guilty for using up the time that he could be sleeping or eating.

"You should sleep." She told him softly.

"I haven't seen you all week." He told her.

"I'll still be around tomorrow. You look like you haven't slept in days."

Draco frowned but she could tell he knew she was right, "Stay?" He asked simply.

Hermione nodded, "Sure."

Apparition lessons had come with a wave of excitement for most people but not Hermione. She didn't even need them, she had done it before and she could do it little effort but she had to take them anyway. The lessons went by quickly. Although she was smart she hadn't thought to pretend she couldn't do it at first so she ended up doing fantastic on the first time. Their apparitions instructor looked like he had just seen Fluffy. Apparently no one had ever gotten it their first time before.

As the lessons continued on Hermione remained the only person that person who managed to aparate, until the fourth lesson when Susan Bones splinched herself. Following that there were several more splinches and then finally a Ravenclaw girl managed to do it. People seemed to flock towards those who managed to apparate, as though just because they could do it, they were cool. That didn't last long though because soon enough everyone was beginning to do it.

"I'm never going to be able to do it by the test date." Ron complained.

People who turned seventeen by March 1st would be able to go to Hogsmeade on the 23 to do the test to get their license. Hermione wasn't worried about it at all but Ron was in full panic mode.

"I'm sure you'll do fine." Harry said, Harry wouldn't be able to try for his until August.

"How do you know that?" Ron asked, "I haven't even managed to get it in class yet. I'm probably the only one."

"I'm sure there are many other people who haven't, Ronald." Hermione said and rolled her eyes at his dramatic show.

"Easy for you to say." Ron grumbled, "You got it the first try."

"That was just luck. If you stopped worrying about it so much and just let it happen you would be able to do it." Hermione lectured the boy as she leafed through their Transfigurations text book.

"I've been trying." Ron sighed in defeat.

"Well there's one more lesson before you guys have to go out for it." Harry said, "Just try Hermione's advice then."

"I suppose." Ron said and began to scribble across a long piece of parchment again.

"I'm surprise you aren't freaking out, Hermione." Harry said as he doodled on a scrap piece of parchment, "Usually you're always freaking out."

"I suppose I'm just a bit more confident this time." Hermione told them as she scanned through a few more pages.

"How was your meeting with Dumbledore?" Hermione asked, the two of them sat alone in the boys dorm.

"It was alright. I still have to think of a way to get that memory." Harry sighed and laid back in the bed, "I think Slughorn knows something is up. I tried asking him the first time and he ran off. Now every time I go near him he asks me if I'm going to be at his party and then runs off."

"Party?" Hermione asked as she leaned back against the wall.

"Yeah, he mentioned it in class." Harry chuckled.

Hermione laughed nervously, it wasn't like her not to pay attention in class but sometimes her mind would drift toward Draco and everything else would disappear.

"What kind of party?" She asked.

"Preholiday party. It's mostly the members of the 'Slug Club' invited. Plus a few extras. Ron even got an invite." Harry looked toward the window near his bed, "There are supposed to be some guests and stuff. Apparently he was going to throw a Christmas Party but something happened and his plans changed. I guess this is him making up for it."

Hermione nodded a bit.

"You and Katie will have a lot of fun."

"So will you, we just need to find you a date." Harry said with a big smile.

Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head. She didn't need any more drama in her life. That was all the situation would cause if she decided to bring a date to a party.

"Oh come on." Harry laughed.

"Harry." Hermione complained, she didn't want to get into this.

She knew his reasons, they were quite obvious. She was alone and she was showing no interest in a relationship. Why? Because she was quite happy with almost being with Draco. Harry wouldn't understand that though.

"You deserve to be happy."

"And I am." Hermione assured him.

Hermione told Harry she would see him later and made her way out of the boys dormitory.

"Hey Granger." A voice said as she exited the stair case.

"Oh, hello Cormac." Hermione said nervously, she had never liked the boy to much.

"I was wondering if you would like to come with me to the party." Cormac put on the smile that usually charmed so many girls but it had no effect on her.

She was about to say no when she stopped herself. She and Draco weren't even dating. Were they? They hadn't talked about it yet. And even if they were it wasn't as though she could go to the party with Draco.

"I'll get back to you." Hermione forced a smile.

She wasn't going to go with him. There was no way in hell, she could easily remember what had happened the last time she went on a date with him. It was horrid. But she knew that if she said no then and there he would annoy her until she agreed to go with him. She would just keep putting it off until he had no choice but to find a different date.

"Cormac asked me to Professor Slughorn's Preholiday party." Hermione told Draco as the two sat in the astronomy tower, looking up at the sky.

She had decided there was no reason for her not to tell him, and she was hopeful that this would open up discussion about them maybe being together. It was foolish for her to be so shy about it but it was Draco Malfoy. Not only that but she had been hurt before. All of the small things now seemed so big. And maybe she was over thinking it but to her it was better safe than hurt again.

"Sounds fun. You should go with him." Draco said with no hesitation in his voice, not even looking at her.

Hermione looked over at him for a moment, he said nothing else.

"You want me to go with him?" Hermione asked.

Draco nodded, still not looking at her. "I'll probably see you there, too. I got an invite as well."

Hermione's stomach shrank a bit. This wasn't at all how she had planned this talk going. He was telling her to go on a date with someone else. But more than that, he didn't even seem to care about the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"Who are you going with?" Hermione asked quietly.

"I don't know, a few people have asked me. I'm sure I won't have any problem picking a date." Draco told her with a shrug.

Hermione nodded and looked away from him. She couldn't bring herself to look at him anymore.

She didn't say anything after that, the two just stood quietly, staring out over the grounds. That familiar pressure squeezed in her chest. She wasn't going to let it bring her down but she couldn't believe how stupid she felt. She had doubts the whole time but she thought that their relationship was more than that. She almost felt like her heart had whiplash from how quickly things had changed. Just the other day she fell asleep in his arms, he said sweet things to her and treated her like a man would treat the woman he loved and then so suddenly it was like none of it had ever happened.

"I guess I'll see you at the party then." Hermione whispered a little while later and without another word she left the room, not looking back.

Her mine raced as she made her way back to the Gryffindor common room. Her world was spinning and she couldn't make sense of anything that just happened. She had been so excited going into the night, she had been planning on bringing up the topic as they got further into it. She had expected that by the end of the night Draco Malfoy would have been her official boyfriend.

"Hey Granger." Cormac's familiar voice greeted her as she entered the common room.

"Oh, hey Cormac." Hermione said, barely paying attention to her surroundings. Right now she just didn't care.

"So have you thought about that date?" He asked with a smirk on his face.

Hermione looked up at the taller boy for a moment and considered. What did she have to lose now? And Draco was expecting her to go with him now anyway. And he was going to have a date of his own...

"I'd love to go with you." Hermione lied and gave him the best smile that she could muster.

She knew it was to obviously forced but he didn't seem to notice. It just showed the kind of person he actually was.

"Great. Can't wait." Cormac said and winked at her before he rushed off to the boys dormitory.

Hermione had trouble forcing herself out of bed the next morning. She just didn't want to get up. She didn't need him to go on and she knew it. But what kind of girl didn't feel depressed for the first while after a break up? Well in all actuality they hadn't even broken up. Things fell apart before they really even started. But Hermione knew that as much as this may hurt for the moment, she couldn't let it hold her down. She cared for Draco, but through experience she had learned that boys weren't worth all of the hurt they caused.

Over the next few days gossip made it's round through the school again. The latest news was that Hermione Granger and Cormac McLaggen were dating. As far as Hermione was aware, all she had done was agreed to go to Slughorn's party with him but he seemed to have other things on his mind.

"Hey Granger." Cormac sat down next to her at the Gryffindor table.

"Uh, hi." Hermione said awkwardly.

Harry eyed her with an amused look that she knew probably meant, 'what have you gotten yourself into?'

Thankfully for Hermione, Katie didn't seem to find it as amusing as Harry did and gave the boy a look until the amused look slipped from his face.

"So babe, I was thinking for the dance we could go with color coordinated outfits." Cormac told her.

Hermione felt slightly sick when he called her 'babe'. At his words Ron looked about how Hermione felt but he sort of looked like he was about to punch someone.

"Uh... sure?" Hermione wasn't sure what she was supposed to say.

She looked up and instantly her eyes caught sight of a blond haired boy across the hall. Her heart skipped a beat for a moment as she watched him. She missed him, maybe she missed the idea of him. They hadn't spoken since the night everything had gone south. He was now sitting at the Slytherin table, some girl was practically hanging off of his arm and laughing at every word he said.

"I've got to go." Hermione said, not wanting to see anymore of it. Why did this feel like deja vu?

She didn't want to go. She didn't want to spend the night running away from Cormac and she didn't want to have to turn her head so she wouldn't see Draco flirting with the girl that he seemed to be with now. She wanted to just hide up in the girls dormitory and wait for the night to pass. Maybe after it was over she wouldn't have so much to worry about anymore.

"I'm not letting you stay." Katie complained.

"I don't want to go."

"I know Cormac's a bit of a git and he's to full of himself for his own good but do you really want to let him ruin a night that could be fun?" Katie asked, "Come on. Besides, you're soon going to be able to get away from here for the holidays."

Hermione sighed, she knew Katie was right. And she knew that no matter what she said she wouldn't be able to get out of going. She couldn't explain everything about Draco to her. She couldn't tell the girl the other reasons why she didn't want to go. If she thought it was just because of Cormac she would have thought it was silly too.

"Fine. Lets go before I change my mind." Hermione gave in.

Hermione entered the party room with Katie and Harry. Cormac had said he would meet her at the party so she had decided maybe she would be lucky enough to avoid him for a while. So far she hadn't seen him. She continued to wish that maybe she got lucky and he fell ill or something, but she knew better than to hope for luck. So far she wasn't what she would consider a lucky person.

"Oh Ashton, this is Ms. Granger, the one I have been telling you about." Slughorn beamed as he gestured to Hermione.

He and a big man walked toward her. Hermione could hardly believe his height and his build but he was indeed that size.

"Hermione, this is Ashton Fletcking. He's the subhead of the Auror department."

"It's nice to meet you." Hermione reached out and shook Ashton's hand which had to be about three times the size of hers. She couldn't help but wonder if somewhere down the line there was some giant in his blood.

"Nice to meet you as well, I've heard many good things about you and your friend Mr. Potter. But to be fair who hasn't heard about the pair of you?" Ashton said, "I think the Auror department would be honored to have two such young and talented people join our forces after the pair of you have graduated."

Hermione couldn't help but feel a bit of scarlet cross her face at these words.

"Oh, thank you. I'm sure Harry would be delighted to hear you say that. I know I am." Hermione said and soon she began to ask all sorts of questions about the Auror department.

"Sometimes." Ashton answered a question, "But it's only in special cases. Most of the time we stay in our own country. When it's our citizens out of country causing the trouble, however, then we get involved. But even then it's usually on a select few of our best who are allowed to do the out of journey missions. I'm sure once you've been trained up you would certainly qualify."

"How long did it take you to get to sub?" Hermione asked the man.

Before he could answer, their conversation was interrupted.

"There you are babe." Cormac's annoying voice came from behind and his arm snaked around her waste.

She instantly felt sick again.

"Oh, hello Cormac." Hermione said uncomfortably.

"It's been nice chatting with you Mrs. Granger." Said the big man and he excused himself, only to be once again engaged in another conversation seconds later.

As the man moved he cleared the view of everyone behind him and that's where Draco stood. He stood out like the red sock in the whites pile. He was over there with that girl, laughing and smiling. He looked as though he were having the time of his life.

"Excuse me." Hermione muttered and quickly ducked away and hurried through the crowd of people until she reached the other side of the room.

"Hey Monie." Ron said.

Oh great, another person to run from.

"Hello Ronald." Hermione said, looking around to make sure that Cormac hadn't followed.

"Hiding from your date?" He asked as he followed her gaze through the crowd of people.

"Something like that." Hermione admitted, "I've never met someone so full of themselves."

Ron seemed to like these words, as they caused a smile to cross his face.

"I know, you should be with someone much more down to earth than that." Ron said coolly.

She knew that he was trying to hint towards himself but she wasn't going to go for the bait. There were two ways it could possibly end, him getting what he wanted or the two of them having a row. She wasn't interested in either of those options so she just kind of ignored his words.

"Malfoy's girlfriend is kind of hot." Ron observed aloud, though she was sure that he probably didn't mean to.

"Who is she?" Hermione asked, looking over to where Ron had seen them and sure enough there they stood. She was once again hanging off of him as though she were unable to support her own weight, but that was hardly believable as her frame was so tiny it seemed like she could snap any moment. Why did guys find that attractive?

"Joice Kim." Ron smirked a bit, still eyeing the girl down, probably imagining what was under her dress robes. "Sixth year Ravenclaw."

"She looks like she has an eating disorder." Hermione scoffed.

She knew that if Draco wasn't with her she wouldn't have anything truly negative to say about the girl. She wouldn't have even noticed that the girl was so underweight but she couldn't help feeling the jealousy bobbing away in the pit of her stomach.

"She looks healthy." Ron said.

Hermione rolled her eyes. Of course, what man wouldn't want a stick figure as a girlfriend? Well what ever. Draco could date his new stick figure all he wanted. What did it matter anymore. It was his choice. They could have been nice together but if that was what he really wanted then so be it.

"Whatever, Ronald." Hermione said hotly and stormed away, leaving a confused and bewildered Ron staring after her.

"There you are pretty lady." She felt an arm snake around her waist again.

"Oh, hi again." Hermione said and tried to distance herself from Cormac a bit. But luck wasn't on her side again.

The song choice changed to a slower tune and several of the people around her began to slow dance together, in the distance she could see Draco wrapping his arms around Joice. Cormac seemed to have the same idea as he wrapped his arms around Hermione and began to move to the music, holding her uncomfortably close to him.

"I'm so glad you agreed to this." He commented as he spun her around, lacking rhythm in his steps. "We can be great together you know? Your brains and my charm and good looks. We could be unstoppable."

Hermione felt the urge to vomit. He was like the twelve year old girls that planned out their weddings after a boy called them pretty or something.

Over the next hour things didn't improve. Hermione made many attempts to get away from the boy but for some reason he always managed to find her after a few minutes. And even worse, it was starting to seem like every time she turned around she had to see the stupid Joice girl draping herself around Draco. She was having a terrible time and there just seemed like there was no way to get out of it.

She continued to search the crowd for a familiar face, someone to save her but her friends seemed to be no where to be found. The whole night was a terrible deal and she just wanted to get away from it all.

"We should get out of here." Cormac leaned down and whispered against her cheek, letting his hot breath tickle against her skin.

Hermione nodded, she couldn't agree more. She just wanted them to go back to the Gryffindor tower, part ways and be done with the whole night. Apparently he had different plans though.

Cormac lead Hermione out of the party and slowly they made their way down the corridor. When they turned the corner she suddenly found herself pressed against the wall with his lips against hers. His body leaned against hers and she felt something disturbingly hard pressing against her stomach.

"I've been thinking about this all night." He whispered, apparently he thought she had meant more than just leave the party and go to sleep.

"Cormac what are you doing?" Hermione squeaked and tried to push him away.

She knew that he wasn't going to rape her. He probably thought he wasn't doing that. With an ego that big he probably didn't think that she would actually reject him.

"It's okay, I know you're a virgin. I'll be gentle." He whispered in a husky voice and planted his lips back on hers.

The next thing she knew his body went flying away from his own and he was falling to the floor. Hermione quickly looked over only to see Draco standing there.

"Don't you touch her like that." Draco roared, she could visibly see the anger in his face.

She had never felt so grateful before. If he hadn't come she knew that Cormac probably wouldn't have stopped, no matter what she said.

Cormac quickly lept to his feet, he too now seemed to be fuming.

"I'll touch her however I want, she's my girlfriend." He said coldly and shoved Draco.

"No, she's _my_ girlfriend." Draco said and punched the taller man.

Cormac's hands were suddenly at his nose which appeared to now be sporting blood.

"You know what Granger? You're just a girl, you're not worth this. I'm so out of here." Cormac rounded the corner and soon he was gone.

"Y-you called me your girlfriend." Hermione whispered, staring at Draco.

Everything had happened so fast that she could hardly register it in her mind.

"I know." He said softly and stepped forward, "I... I mean I know you aren't but I really want you to be."

"Then why did you tell me to come with him." Hermione asked, staring at him.

"I was jealous." Draco admitted, "I thought you were asking for permission or something. I've watched you. You look so uncomfortable with him. I could tell it wasn't what you wanted. I made a big mistake. I'm sorry. I know I'm a git. I would have stepped forward sooner but that Jane girl or whatever was hanging off of me all night."

"I'd love to be your girlfriend, Draco." Hermione said and pulled him into a kiss, clearly accepting his apology.

There were hands moving everywhere. Her hands clutched the front of his shirt, pulling him closer to her, her fists brushing against his toned chest. His arms circled around her, one hand firmly around her waist while one hand tangled itself into her hair. She didn't know what was happening but she didn't object, there were no words to describe how happy she was, so maybe their actions could explain for her.

Hermione felt her back touch the wall again but this time she had no objections, this time she didn't care about what was going to happen because it was Draco. Nothing mattered as long as it was Draco. She had missed his touch, and the way he kissed her. But he had never quite kissed her like this before. His one arm slowly made it's way up her side, letting his fingers skim over her softly through her clothes. The girl couldn't help but let out an encouraging moan.

"What the hell are you doing? Get away from her." Draco was suddenly ripped away from Hermione.

Her heart froze as the voice shot through the air. As her eyes met his she felt her chest constrict. No, it couldn't be happening.

"Hermione are you okay?" Harry asked, obviously he had mistaken the situation but the girl behind him seemed to have full understanding in her eyes.

"Har-" Katie tried.

"Katie give her a second." Harry spoke to her softly, but it did not hide the hatred in his face.

"Harry." Hermione whispered and grabbed a hold of Draco's arm.

Harry's eyes widened and his face spelled out betrayal in a way that broke her heart.

"Hermione..." Harry's weak voice cracked a bit as though he had just seen her die.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, there were now tears sliding down her cheeks.

"How could you." His voice was still hurt.

"I'm so sorry Harry." Hermione plead with him, "I never meant for this to happen. I fell for him, Harry. I wanted to tell you but I didn't know how."

Harry looked over at Draco and Hermione knew that if Harry didn't have some self control Draco would have been laying dead at his feet.

"Harry calm down." Katie whispered, but Hermione knew it was gone to far for that now.

"Don't tell me to calm down." Harry tried to keep a calm voice with her but it didn't work.

In the blink of an eye Harry's wand was suddenly in his hand and pointed at Draco.

"Sectu-"

"Don't you dare!" Hermione screamed at him and stepped in front of Draco, not willing to let Harry hurt him.

Harry swallowed hard and lowered his wand.

"Hermione... you..." Harry trailed off, he obviously didn't know what to say, "How could you." He whispered and turned, quickly walking away.

Katie didn't move though. She rushed over and hugged Hermione tightly.

"I'm sorry." Katie told her and then pulled back so she could look the girl in the eyes, "Just give it a bit. You know that once he calms down things will work out. I'll talk to him." She promised and then hurried after Harry.

Hermione would have believed it before but she could tell that she had betrayed Harry in one of the worst ways. The only thing worse that she could do was probably to have a relationship with Voldemort.

"I'm so sorry." Draco whispered and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her temple softly.

"Everyone's going to know about us tomorrow." Hermione chocked out, tears still falling down her cheeks.

"I'll stand by you. You won't have to do it alone." He leaned down and captured her lips softly with his own, this time much softer than the hot kiss they had shared just moments ago, before everything had fallen apart.

* * *

**A/N: DUN DUN DUN. A lot of love and hate right now right? I know, for a minute you guys were like yes! And then I had to kill it. It had to happen though.**

**And as for adding Cormac, well I needed a character to take Hermione to the party and make all of this happen, the only other candidate would have been Ron and that would have been stupid. Cormac showed interest in the novels so I decided sure, why not. **

**Another thing that's been keeping me busy is kittens. I was out of town with my mom and my best friend on Friday and we went into a pet store.**

**My mom and I got so attached to this cute little kitten. My best friend and my mom's boyfriend were talking about me probably getting the kitten next door in this pawn shop, the woman there told them that she has two more kittens she was looking to get rid of. She said they were free so I agreed that I'd take one of them.**

**When I went over to look at them, I couldn't choose between them. They were both so cute, she told me I should just take them both because she was about to just throw them out so I agreed (some people are just terrible aren't they? These kittens are only like five weeks old)**

**So I've been running around taking care of them all weekend. But they're so cute!**

**Haha, sorry for the super off topic story, I'm so excited about them so I thought I would share. What did you guys think? The next chapter is half written out already so look forward to it really soon.**

**Have a great day guys.  
**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hey guys! I know at the moment you're probably just hating on me. I've taken forever to reply, again, even though I promised to reply right away. **

**A few of you had suggested a beta because it would take time and it would catch the mistakes that I do miss. I tried it out and it didn't really work. **

**I sent it to a few people and they said they would get it back to me within the day, and when that never happened I tried sending it to another person.**

**This continued on until finally I decided whatever, I would rather you guys actually have the story with a few mistakes, than to never get it at all. **

**I hope you guys aren't to terribly annoyed with me. This was also going to be in two chapters so I hope you guys like it. **

**My dedications are going to suck again this time but I promise to dedicate it to some of you next time. **

**Right now it's dedicated to all of you who have been patient with my lack of posting after I teased you with posting every other day in the beginning.

* * *

**

**Chapter Fifteen: The Sickest Things  
**

* * *

Hermione's fears proved true the next day. It felt like everywhere she went whispers and stares followed her. People gave her dirty looks as though she had done something wrong. The weird thing was, though, the looks even seemed to be coming from people that she knew. Of course she knew that Harry would react the way he did but there were other people that she didn't think would have cared. She wasn't really close with any of the people, besides Harry, who seemed to severely dislike her actions, but it still stung her a little bit.

Thankfully those who mattered, again, besides Harry, seemed to be able to accept the new development well. Naturally there was a short hesitation and confusion, to them it probably seemed out of character for her. She had expected worse to happen so in her opinion glares and whispers were a short price to pay for happiness. But was the loss of her best friend? She and Ron had fought so many times during their time at Hogwarts, but Hermione and Harry never really had. They had arguments and such, but that never came in the way of their friendship. This was the first time that he had ever actually hated her. It was the worst feeling in the world to know that she may never be his friend again.

"Don't think about it." Draco said softly.

Hermione sighed for a moment as she stared out over the lake. She knew that he was right and if she could, she would follow the advice but she couldn't get Harry out of her mind. Was she really supposed to though? She couldn't just forget someone she cared about so much, no matter how close minded they may have been. Harry always had her best interest at heart, this was just hard for him to accept. She just had to keep hoping that Katie was right and that he would come around. If not she didn't know what she would do. There was no doubt in her mind that she loved Harry way more than she loved Draco. Not in the same way of course, but he had been her best friend for many years. Draco had only been a part of her life for a few months. But if Harry really cared back, would he even put her in this position? Draco wasn't.

"I'm trying." Hermione sighed and looked over at him, "It's just really hard. He's the best friend I've ever had."

Draco nodded understandingly, "I know. He'll come around. I know he hates me, but he loves you. That has to count for something."

Hermione nodded and leaned against Draco, resting her head on his shoulder. He smiled softly at her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

"Ron surprised me the most." Hermione told him, "He's obviously jealous. Every time he sees you he looks like he wants to beat you down. But he hasn't done anything. He's still trying to be friends with me. He even told me he can accept that we're together."

Draco nodded, "I don't really buy it."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I think he might be changing for the better. I think I could actually be his friend now."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I will never be more than his friend. If he can't except that then he loses it. Don't worry so much." Hermione told him.

"I can't help but worry, I care about you."

After this neither of them said anything for a few minutes, they just sat in silence and stared into the distance. Hermione had so many things going on in her mind.

A few days passed and still Hermione hadn't spoken to Harry. The whispers were starting to die down but the stares never stopped. She always had a feeling that people were talking about her, she just couldn't see it anymore. Maybe she had just gotten good at ignoring it, who was to judge. As time passed it began to bug her more and more than she had lost her best friend. If she hadn't wouldn't he have said something by now? They saw one another every day but he never looked her way.

Hermione was sitting in the library by herself. Draco had stuck by her over the few days previously but she knew how much it was effecting him. He didn't know she knew, but she did. She knew what he was doing behind the confined walls of the Room of Requirements. She knew that during those few days he had risked a lot for her and she just couldn't let him do it anymore.

Her attention was pulled away from the book when the sound of a chair scraping against the floor rang through the air. Hermione looked over and there she saw Harry. For a moment she thought she had fallen asleep or something, honestly she had begun to believe he wouldn't talk to her again but there he sat.

"I was going to come talk to you sooner." Harry said quietly, "But I've been ashamed. The way I acted was wrong Hermione. But I think you should know where I'm coming from."

His expression changed to angered again.

"I mean come on Hermione, Malfoy of all people. He's been a prat since we met him. You hated him so much that you hit him in third year. I don't understand how this could have happened. It just seems so wrong."

Hermione looked away from Harry. She understood where he was coming from, but she could never make him understand how she felt about Draco. She could never make him understand how happy the boy made her. Hermione believed that she and Draco wouldn't last. She had a strong feeling that after Dumbledore died he would be driven to the dark side and she would never follow. She cared so much for him but she wouldn't change who she was just to be with him. She could never be on Voldemort's dark side. They took so much from her the last time around, so much of her time at Hogwarts, so many of the people she cared about and she had to watch as he made her best friend suffer. She couldn't just forget all of that for a boy.

"But the thing is, it really shouldn't matter, should it?" Harry said.

Hermione looked up with a small smile on her face.

"Look Hermione..." Harry started, clearly struggling with his words, "I... I will never like it. I will never approve and I doubt that we will ever get along. But I can deal with him. Since we were eleven you've stuck with me through everything. Things that Ron never even stuck with me through. I always call him my best friend because he's the guy, you know? He's the one that I get to talk about guy stuff with, the stuff that you don't really care for. But for the past few days I've really been thinking and you are more than just a best friend to me.

"I don't mean to sound like some crummy apology card. I've just never really appreciated all that you have done for me. Every time that something has come up in my life you have helped me through it. In second year you even got yourself petrified to help me. You helped me save Sirius in third year. In the fourth year when everyone else hated me, you were there. So I've decided that it's my turn to be there for you." Harry said, shifting awkwardly throughout his speech.

Hermione's face lit up and she threw her arms around her best friend.

"Thank you so much, Harry."

"I just want you to be happy. Even if it is with... him." Harry returned the hug.

Hermione pulled back, still beaming.

"You know, he really isn't that bad. Sometimes he's a little bit cocky but behind the surface he's a really nice guy Harry. I think that if you guys got to know one another you could be really good friends."

Harry snorted at her words, obviously not believing her observation.

"Yeah, right."

"You don't know him like I do though." Hermione pointed out.

"Hermione, I'll be civil with him for you. But I know we're never going to be friends. And besides, he's a dea-"

"Harry." Hermione said in a stern voice.

"Sorry."

Over the next week things just seemed to be getting better and better. The ups and downs of her life were starting to overwhelm her but the good moments made it all worth the while. When Draco wasn't locked away in the room of requirements, he was usually found spending time with Hermione and sometimes, with her friends, too. Harry and Draco were trying, but you could always tell their efforts were forced. Hermione wasn't surprised by this though, she had known it was coming. What did surprise her was how well most of her other friends were getting on with Draco. But who wouldn't be surprised by this? The Gryffindor and Slytherin rivalry had gone on for so long, it was so deeply carved into all of the students but Dean, Luna, Katie seemed to be able to put it behind him. Merlin, Neville was even on a more friendly level with Draco than before.

Hermione, Harry, Katie and Draco were taking a walk through the grounds. Katie and Hermione had been chatting wildly, with Hermione in a better mood lately she had been a lot more talkative, but Harry and Draco just walked silently with the two girls between them. Every so often she would see one of them look over at the other with a cold expression but no words were exchanged.

"So Draco, how did this all start. I've heard it from Hermione already but I want to know _your_ side of the story." Katie tried to get the boy to join the conversation.

Draco smiled a bit for the first time since the four had met up.

"Well actually, it started at the Masquerade ball. My friends kind of forced me to go and I was having a dreadful time. I tried to find someone decent to have a conversation with but I kept ending up talking to people with brains with less depth than that of a rock." Draco began to tell his tale, "I was about to give up. I decided one more shot and if I ended up talking to some oaf again I would sneak out of the ball and head back to the common room. But I struck up a conversation with Hermione and it appeared that she was having the same issue."

Draco smiled at Hermione and wrapped his arm around her as they walked, Katie chuckled a bit as she was one of the girls that had dragged Hermione to the Ball.

"It was like an instant connection. She was actually someone with brains, opinions and emotions. We spent the rest of the evening talking and then the unmasking came. Well it didn't go over so smoothly. I took off less than a minute after I found out who it was. I was so in shock. I mean, one of the people who I figured I would always hate connected with me so well. When she had the mask on she was actually someone I wanted to be friends with. She listened, she helped, she had brains, at the time I didn't think it would get much better than that. I was to confused afterward, though, that I couldn't function for a few days but after I had time to think I realized that maybe it was the point where I should put my hatred aside.

"Thankfully for me she was willing to do the same. So for a few months we were good friends. I went to her parents place for Christmas and I started to like her. Who knew right? I learned so much about her and it was hard to even believe that a year ago I had hated her. She was so different than I thought she was. So I kissed her on new years." Draco laughed softly at the memory.

Katie glanced over at Hermione with questioning eyes, Hermione hadn't told the girl that part of their story for obvious reasons. It wasn't exactly something she wanted to tell her because she didn't have a way to explain it. She wasn't really to happy about it either. Hermione's eyes glanced over at Harry whose face looked like stone and he appeared trying hard not to listen. He accepted Draco, and that made her happy, the problem was he was trying to ignore all traces of his best friends relationship.

"That didn't go so well either. This time she was the one that ran away. We ended up talking again, of course, she shared with me that she wasn't ready for a relationship and I agreed to be her friend for the time being. Time went by, blah blah blah, all of the stuff I know you're not interested in," Draco said playfully but Hermione knew he was right, Katie was only interested in the juicy details about the relationship, not the friendship before it, "and then eventually it just kind of clicked."

"That's cute, your version is better than Hermione's version." Katie told him, "Harry stop sulking."

Harry glanced at his girlfriend with an even poutier look. It wasn't like Harry to pout, that was usually Ron's forte but then again this wasn't just any day to day situation.

"She just leaves out all the best stuff doesn't she?" Draco teased.

"I know!" Katie agreed.

Hermione just laughed and rolled her eyes at them.

"Are you going for the apparition test tomorrow?" She asked him.

"No, my birthday isn't until June." He told her.

"Looks like it's just me and you, Hermione." Katie continued to chat away.

"And Ron." Harry added for the first time since Draco had come into view.

Hermione found herself surrounded by a bunch of nervous teenagers the next morning. All of them seemed to be dreading their trip to Hogsmeade to take their test. Hermione on the other had didn't really care. No one but Draco and Dumbledore knew it, but Hermione was way ahead of all of the students at school and she had already apparated so many times in her life, it was going to be an easy pass.

"What if I die or something." Ron panicked as he stared at his empty plate of food.

"Why would you die?" Hermione asked as she sipped away at her pumpkin juice.

"I'unno." Ron pondered for a moment, "What if I like... did it wrong and ended up half in Brazil and the rest of me doesn't even move. They'd never find the rest of my body."

"Oh man up, Ron." Dean laughed beside him.

"Easy for you to say. You aren't old enough to test for another two months."

"Good morning." Draco said as he sat next to her, kissing her cheek softly.

"Hey, I didn't think you would be down." Hermione said.

Draco still hadn't realized that she knew a little more than she should know. He actually seemed pleased with the fact that she accepting his excuse of, "I just have some things to take care of" every time he went missing for days at a time.

"Yeah I know, I just wanted to wish you some luck." Draco smiled at her.

Ron made a gagging motion beside them but neither paidhim any notice.

"Well thank you. Will I see you tonight?" She asked her boyfriend.

"I think so. We'll have to see though. But good luck."

"You of all people should know I don't need it." Hermione lowered her voice a bit and the two of them chuckled at the secret they shared.

"I know, but I thought I would anyway." Draco said, "But I have things to take care of so I'll probably see you later."

With a kiss slightly more intense than usual, probably just to annoy Ron, Draco took off back to the Room of Requirements.

"Gross." Ron muttered, Hermione just rolled her eyes.

A short while later the sixth years were gathered up and they took off on their adventure. It was a beautiful spring morning. The sun was beaming, the birds chirping and almost all of the snow had disappeared. The walk to Hogsmeade took a lot less time now that they didn't have to trudge through the snow or hide their faces from the blistering winds. A mixture of excited and nervous voices passed through the group as they neared the village.

"I'm so excited." Katie informed Ron and Hermione as the village came into sight.

"Do you ever get nervous?" Hermione joked.

"Everyone please line up here." The instructor said as they reached the area in which they were to do their tests.

The students all lined up and one by one they began to do their test. The first few people that tried failed within moments which didn't help the nerves of the people standing behind them. By the sixth student a few of the people in front of Hermione looked as though they were going to be sick, but after she passed the test their faces lightened up a bit. The next person up was Pansy Parkinson. It didn't surprise Hermione that Pansy failed horribly, in fact the same thing had happened last time. As the girl walked past Hermione couldn't help but laugh.

Pansy stopped and smiled, her smile was so evil in that moment that Hermione almost cringed.

"You're laughing now. But it won't last long, Mudblood. That's a promise." Pansy laughed as she walked away.

"What was that about?" Katie asked, staring after the girl.

"I don't know. Probably nothing. Lets just forget about it."

Just a few students later and Katie was standing at the front of the line.

"You're going to do fantastic." Hermione assured the girl as she walked off to the line where they were supposed to disparate from.

Everything that happened next was in slow motion but it went to fast for any form of comprehension. It started with a scream, a single scream in the distance. Katie had just disparated and before she even appeared again everyone's heads had turned. The next thing they knew they were ambushed. There were people in black cloaks everywhere. This was followed by an outburst of screams. The few adults there took charge and tried to fight against the Death Eaters. A few students helped but most of them just ran, screaming. Unusually enough the Death Eaters didn't seem to care. Hermione's reactions were basically reflex. Her training with the D.A kicked in and she sent a few hexes flying at random Death Eaters. The next scream that she heard was one that pierced her heart.

Colors flashed before Hermione's eyes as she whipped her head around. She could see Katie's body laying limply on the ground and Ron bellowing hexes at the Death Eaters who had done it.

"Katie!" Hermione heard herself cry and still in slow motion she took off over to where her friend was laying on the ground.

"Please be alive." She panicked as she fell to her knees on the ground, no longer caring about what was going on around her.

Before she could check if Katie was alive or not two hands grasped the arm either side of her body and she felt herself being pulled up. For a moment she thought it was Ron but she saw him trying to fight his way toward her.

"Hermione!" Ron yelled.

She could tell by the expression on his face that he was fighting as hard as he could to get to her. Somewhere deep down she knew that he loved her. Maybe he just didn't love her enough but she knew he did. In that moment she was glad she was friends with him again but she didn't really have time to be thankful.

Hermione tried to force her way toward Ron but no amount of fighting seemed to help. One of the Death Eaters that Ron was fighting fell limply to the ground just as Katie had and he managed to get a clear shot at one of the Death Eaters holding her. The Death Eater to her right sank to the ground cursing wildly and the other one was so surprised that she managed to slip out of his grip. For a second she thought she was free when she felt a hand grip her hair tightly.

"Going somewhere, Mudblood?" A cold voice asked, she could feel their breath against the side of her face, their words were followed by a cold laugh.

Hermione tried to fight out of the grasp of her new captor but, again, they were stronger than she was. And if she tried to pull away their grip got tighter on her hair which hurt a lot. It was to much for her to take in all at once. Katie could be dead, there were to many Death Eaters for them to possibly fight their way out of. That's when her eyes caught sight of something beyond the fight. It was one of the sickest things she could have imagined would happen that day. It was in that moment she understood that she wasn't meant to get out of it alive. She could tell by the pleased look on Pansy's face. The girl mouthed 'I told you so.' After that everything went black, with the sound of Ron's voice screaming her name ringing in her ears.

* * *

**A/N: I know, every time something good happens I totally ruin it by throwing something terrible into the mix. But that's what keeps it interesting isn't it?**

**I bet you're really starting to hate my cliffhangers. Right now you're probably wondering, what's going to happen? What the hell even did happen? Is Katie alive? What happened to everyone else what was there? Was there someone else behind this, besides Pansy? Was it that evil Ginny again? What happened to Ron? Why has he suddenly changed? What happened to Hermione? So on, so on.**

**And if you weren't before, I bet you are now.**

**So guys I need to find a way to post on a regular basis. The school year is a little more hectic than I predicted and you're not the only one that dislikes it when I don't post for days on end.**

**So I have to think of some kind of in between, some way to work it out.**

**You guys should help me come up with a reasonable posting schedule, I would love to post every day, don't get me wrong but that isn't really realistic.**

**So how often do you guys usually post when you have a story? What works for you? You should let me know so I can try to make a schedule for it. **

**And when I do I'll let you guys know, so if I miss a date then you guys can pester me with a bunch of messages asking me why I haven't replied yet.**

**Hope you guys enjoyed it, have a great day.  
**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Hey guys. I've stayed up until now working on this chapter so that I could post it for you guys. It's not as good as I expected it to be but to be fair I'm quite tired out from this week. It's not to bad though.**

**Please excuse any mistakes I may have made, I tried to read it over but as I said, I'm quite exhausted. **

**Sorry for the cruel cliff hanger last time, but it's just so much fun.**

**From here the story is going to start to pick up pace. **

**This chapter is dedicated to** 1Purple- monkey- dishwasher8 **and** AnimePainLuvaQueenBitch 666

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen: The Lies Of A Mudblood**

* * *

Harry raced excitedly to Dumbledore's office. He had been delivered a note from a third year, directing him to go see his head master. He couldn't help but feel excited every time that he got one of those notes. It was always bringing him one step closer to getting rid of Voldemort once and for all. Little did he know that this meeting wouldn't be as satisfying as he had believed it would be.

Once he reached the office he gave the door a firm knock and awaited a reply.

"Enter." Dumbledore's voice came from the other side of the door.

When Harry opened the door he didn't find what he had been expecting. He had expected to see Dumbledore waiting with the pensive. But instead Dumbledore sat with a hard look on his face and Ron sitting opposite of him. Ron looked to be a mess, his facial expression spelled out fear. He had never seen such a look on his friends face before. That was the moment he knew something was wrong, really wrong.

"What... what happened?" He asked, he felt his voice crack slightly as the stress began to build up inside of him.

Living the life he had he usually assumed the worst possible situation right away. How could he not? Every time he turned around something wrong was happening. Life could never be easy for him. He should have expected it this time. He had gotten so carried away with happiness that he completely forgot about all the pain. He forgot about the fear he felt after losing Sirius. How utterly stupid of him.

"Hermione..." Ron whispered, tears welled up in the boys eyes.

"Please take a seat, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore said.

Harry's heart began to hammer as the pieces started to fall into place. Ron and Hermione had gone for their apparition test in Hogsmeade; away from the castles protective barrier. Another thing clicked in his mind instantly. Katie had been there too. The boy drew in a deep breath, not knowing if he would be able to handle the news.

"There was an attack on Hogsmeade today." Dumbledore said, keeping a monotone voice. "It was directed toward the group of Hogwarts students who were there taking their tests. Some ended up with serious injuries, Ms. Lynch was one of them."

"Is she okay?" Harry asked, bolting out of his chair, hands grabbing onto the desk in front of him.

"She is fine Mr. Potter. At the moment she is in the hospital wing being taken care of, but I'm afraid that isn't the worst of the news." Dumbledore told him.

Harry's eyes moved over to where Ron was sitting, his head was down. He remembered what Ron had said about Hermione just moments before hand. Where was she? No... No it couldn't be. Had she not made it? No, it couldn't be true. Hermione couldn't die. She was far too intelligent. She knew how to take care of herself. It had to be something else. He just couldn't allow his mind to go in that direction. It couldn't be Sirius all over again.

"Hermione..." He whispered.

Dumbledore gave a soft nod.

His chest constricted at his nod, it felt like he couldn't breathe anymore. No, not Hermione. It couldn't be. Hermione was the one person that stuck with him through everything. She was his _best_ friend. He couldn't do it without her. He didn't want to admit it but he was counting on her. He hated to admit it but he needed her to make it to the end.

"No..." Harry whispered, he felt tears sting his eyes. Maybe he was a man but who cared, it didn't mean it was wrong for him to cry. He probably had more of a right to cry than most girls did about their silly little problems. "No." He suddenly roared and slammed his fist against the desk, it was just like last year. "She can't be dead."

"We're not sure of that Mr. Potter." Dumbledore said and rose from his chair.

"What?" Harry asked, now puzzled.

"She wasn't killed, Mr. Potter. Not to our knowledge anyway." Dumbledore admitted, "It seems as though the Death Eaters attacked for one reason, to abduct Ms. Granger."

Harry's eyes widened. It was hardly better than death. For a moment Harry was waiting for the man to say that they had failed, but no such words escaped his mouth. She was gone, she was actually gone. The boy fell back into the chair and buried his face into his hands.

"Why?" He asked, not looking up.

"Well, this is just a guess on my part, Mr. Potter. But I think her relationship with, Mr. Malfoy was heard about beyond the walls of this castle. I don't think Voldemort appreciated this too much."

Harry's face hardened with anger. Of course it was that stupid ferrets fault. If it wasn't for him, his best friend would be at Hogwarts, cheering on about how she had passed her test. Things would be fine. They would be normal even. But he had to fuck it all up. Because of him, Harry may never even see her again.

At that moment the door to Dumbledore's office opened again.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Draco's voice was heard from the doorway.

In that moment Harry felt something inside of him snap. He basically just killed the best friend he had ever had. Stupid Death Eater. He never cared about anyone but himself and Harry knew it. Harry decided he didn't care what happened anymore. The ferret would pay for what he had gotten his best friend into.

"It's your entire fault." Harry bellowed as he jumped to his feet to see Draco entering the office.

Draco didn't have a chance to get very far because the next moment Harry attacked him, his fist introducing itself to his delicate face.

"If it wasn't for you she would be okay! You fucking selfish prick." Harry roared as he served the blond another blow to the face. Before he could gift him with another, an unknown force tore him away from Malfoy.

"Mr. Potter." Dumbledore's voice interrupted his mind. He knew that he shouldn't have done it but he couldn't bring himself to regret it.

Draco didn't seem to be paying attention to what had happened as he clutched his bleeding nose. His face was alarmed, but his eyes darted from Harry, to Dumbledore, to Ron. He obviously knew that something was wrong.

"What is he talking about?" Draco asked, now in the same position that Harry had been in just moments before hand.

"Ms. Granger has been abducted by Death Eaters who raided Hogsmeade earlier today." Dumbledore told him, not bothering to beat around the bush as he had with Harry.

The color drained from Draco's face. Harry knew that Draco cared about Hermione. He just didn't think he deserved her. Just look at what he had gotten her into. They had been dating for such a small time and yet she was already in danger.

"No, you've made some mistake." Draco said, shaking his head. Harry knew the denial he was feeling.

"It's true." Ron's voice grunted as he joined the conversation for the first time.

Another knock came from the door. Without waiting for a reply Professor McGonagall entered the room briskly.

"The minister is here to see you, Albus."

"Mr. Weasley, can I trust you to keep these two civil whilst I'm gone?" Dumbledore asked, Ron gave a soft nod. Dumbledore then exited the room.

"No." Draco said, leaning against the wall. Almost as soon as his back came into contact with the wall he slid down it. "We have to get her back." Draco said in a hoarse voice.

For the first time it seemed like Harry and Draco were on the same page about it. The more Harry thought about it, the more he realized that it was perfect. Draco was probably the only person that knew where to find her. He knew more about the Death Eaters than any of them did. They could go on searching forever to find what he could find so simply.

"Let's do it." Harry said, his voice not showing a hint of joking.

Ron looked up quickly, his eyes darting back and forth between the two boys.

"Okay." Draco said, rising to his feet. His face was just as serious.

Harry wasn't going to let another person he loved die. It wouldn't happen this time.

A scream was all that could be heard throughout the room. In normal situations people would think something was wrong and scurry to make sure that the person in question was alright. But this wasn't any normal situation. The room was already filled with people, but they weren't showing any concern for the poor girl, in fact they seemed to be enjoying her pain.

"Filthy Mudblood." Bellatrix laughed, giving the girl a swift kick to the side of the ribs. "I don't see what my nephew sees in a filthy creature like you."

With a cruel laugh the woman pointed her wand at Hermione and bellowed out a curse she had already said many times that night, "Cruico!"

Another scream erupted from Hermione's mouth, her body twitching wildly as her mind endured more pain than anyone could ever explain. It was like a million blades were being repeatedly stabbed into her, but at the same time it was far worse than that. When the curse broke the girl curled up into a ball and began sobbing hard. At first she had wished that someone would come and save her. Draco, Harry, the Order, maybe even Ron. Anyone but her spirits were quickly fading. At this point she wasn't even sure if she would survive the night.

"So tell me Mudblood, what love potion did you use on him?" Bellatrix asked.

"N-none." Hermione sobbed, "We aren't together." The girl lied. She knew it was the only way to ensure her survival. If she admitted it they would kill her instantly. And luckily for her, she had taken the time to learn Occlumency before she had been sent back in time so the Dark Lord didn't yet know of her lie. He suspected, but he had no sure proof.

"LIAR!" Bellatrix screamed. All of the other Death Eaters just sat back, enjoying the show. Apparently they weren't as enthusiastic as Bellatrix, but of course they still loved to watch some innocent child being tortured.

She was hit yet again, followed by yet another scream. She wasn't sure how much longer she could hang on. At this point she was almost begging for death. The thought itself nearly killed her. She had wanted so much from her life. Was ending this way better than the life she had before? Yes, it had to be. Maybe she wouldn't live as long but she was happy. She had gotten the most amazing boyfriend she could have ever asked for; she got to be happy again. She even had the knowledge of knowing that Harry would do better than Ginny. Then she remembered seeing Katie's lifeless body lying on the ground. Maybe he wouldn't after all. Soon she might even be with her friend.

"Stop, Bella." Voldemort said softly. "It appears that the girl is starting to fade away. We can't let her off so easily."

"But my lord she is lying." Hermione heard Bellatrix say in a pouty voice, followed by foot steps away from her.

"Perhaps. We will know soon enough. I have invited Mr. Malfoy to come plead his case. Either way the Mudblood will die tonight. He may be lucky enough to do the honors." The man spoke and followed it with a cruel laugh.

"Genius, my Lord." Bellatrix praised him.

Hermione had to fight with every fibre of her being just to stay awake. She prayed to herself that Draco would be smart enough to just go into hiding. She knew that if he showed up he would just try to save her and then Voldemort would know the truth. If he found out the truth he would kill them both. Draco would be considered a blood traitor and in close hand with Harry. She knew that Draco cared a great deal about her, maybe others couldn't see it but in her heart she knew it. He just couldn't save her this time. She hoped that he would know that she would want him to save himself and forget about her. She just wasn't worth it this time. Maybe he would even team up with Harry to bring the Dark Lord down.

It felt like days had gone by. She knew it couldn't have been but with every moment that passed it was getting harder and harder to hang onto her consciousness. She couldn't be sure what was trying to claim her, whether it was as simple as sleep or something more sinister like Death. At this point she knew that Death was probably the better option, but she needed to hang on long enough to make sure that Draco would be okay. If he did show up, maybe she could tell him to just kill her and get it over with. Maybe he would listen and sacrifice her for his own life.

"Ahh, finally, Draco." Voldemort's voice sounded pleased as the doors opened.

If Draco really was there he didn't say anything in reply, his footsteps just echoed loudly as he made his way across the room, walking right past her.

"I got your message." Draco's voice came from the other side of the room.

"Good. I think it's about time we cleared a few things up, Draco." Voldemort said.

"Do you know who that is?" Voldemort asked, Hermione had a feeling that he was pointing in her direction.

"Hermione Granger, she goes to my school." Draco kept his voice calm.

"And is it not true that you are having relations with this... this Mudblood?" Voldemort's voice was now colder than it had been before.

"No sir. I would never touch such filth." Draco's voice was unusually cold and believable. If Hermione could move she would have shivered from the disgust in his voice. But she was too sore to move a muscle. She couldn't even open her eyes.

"I see. So what are all the rumors about?" Voldemort said, clearly not buying it even though Draco was horribly convincing.

Draco let out a laugh, "I wanted to get closer to, Potter. I lead the girl on for a while. He didn't trust me though so I just told her to bugger off. It wasn't worth the effort."

"Hmm, that's quite clever of you, Draco." Voldemort said, he now seemed to be contemplating his words. "If we weren't going to kill her, I would say it was something you should pursue. Which brings me to the point of this evening, would you do the honors, Draco?"

"My Lord," Another voice said, "Where did the Mudblood go?" The room was suddenly filled with gasps.

Hermione tried to open her eyes. What did he mean where had she gone? She hadn't moved a muscle; she couldn't even if she tried. With a force the girl opened her eyes. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust but when they did she saw Harry crouching above her, the two were hiding beneath the clock. Harry raised a finger to his mouth, gesturing her to stay silent. She couldn't even nod.

Voldemort let out a loud roar.

"She must have run for it when we turned away!" Bellatrix screamed.

"She couldn't have gotten far in her condition." Draco's voice said.

"Let's spread out." Voldemort said.

Suddenly Harry hoisted her up, careful not to knock the clock in any way that would give them away. He quickly moved over toward the wall, so the Death Eaters wouldn't trample over them as they hurried toward the door.

Harry began to walk briskly. Hermione had a hunch that he was following Draco but she couldn't turn her head enough to see. She couldn't believe it was happening. That they were actually working together to save her. What was even more surprising though, was the fact that they seemed to be getting away with it.

"Malfoy, where do you think you're going?" A scratchy voice asked.

"I was going to look outside." Draco didn't hesitate with his answer. "If she hides out there and no one thinks to look, chances are we will never find her."

"Fair enough, I'll join you." The man said.

"You don't think I'm capable of handling it on my own? I saw the state she was in; I doubt she would be too much trouble for me." Draco said.

"I don't trust you Malfoys." The other man said bluntly.

"Fine, accompany me if you wish. I have nothing to hide." Draco said in a cold voice.

Hermione knew when they exited the building because there was a sudden gust of cool air. It must have been night time, it was usually warmer during the day. In the distance she could hear the sounds of animals and the sound of the breeze through the trees. The fresh air felt so good to her lungs, even the cool prickle on her skin felt good.

"Go to the spot, I'll meet you there soon." Draco's whispered softly.

Harry didn't wait to be told a second time before he continued on. They walked for a few moments before they reached the spot in question.

"Are you okay?" Harry's worried voice finally broke the silence.

Hermione tried to open her mouth to speak but no words would come out. Tears formed in her eyes, which seemed to be answer enough for him.

"It's okay." Harry whispered and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "As soon as Draco gets back we will go back to Hogwarts. It won't be long." He promised, "Just please hold on a little longer."

It felt like a long time, they just sat there in silence. Harry had realized that Hermione couldn't talk so he didn't bother trying to talk to her about anything. She was pretty glad for it because she didn't want to talk anyway. There were just too many things wrong. Would she ever be okay again? It wasn't hard for her to believe that Neville's parents had gone insane from the same kind of torture. She knew how they must have been feeling throughout the whole thing. Those poor people.

"Katie?" Hermione managed to croak, realizing she didn't yet know if her friend was alive or dead.

"She's fine." Harry promised, "A bit messed up but fine nonetheless."

Footsteps were heard a while later, the fresh blades of grass crunching beneath the weight of the person.

"I'm being watched." Draco muttered. "Keep the cloak on until we're back in the castle. Let's go."

The apparition sensation had never been more horrible before. It actually hurt this time. She couldn't help but feel grateful that it was a quick process. She knew that the Hogwarts passages had been long closed off so their journey back to the castle was bound to take quite a while. She was right.

"We're almost there." Harry would whisper every now and then.

She was happy that Harry was there for her, but she longed to be in Draco's arms, to cry to him, to hear his words of comfort. She loved Harry but it just wasn't the same as Draco caring for her. It did help a little at least.

"Ms. Granger. Wake up." Madam Pomfrey's voice fussed over her.

Hermione opened her eyes. She felt dreadful.

"You're finally awake." The woman beamed.

"How long was I out?" Hermione was surprised that she was now able to speak.

"A few days, but it is completely normal with how exhausted your body was driven. You're quite lucky. Besides some possible memory loss, I think you should be fine." The woman said, handing Hermione a few potions, "But there could be emotional damage for a long time."

The next hour was spent going through exam after exam, checking to make sure that she was okay. After passing the last of her tests the woman had no choice but to allow the girl guests.

"Hermione!" A voice said excitedly as they entered the room. Hermione was so relieved to see Katie enter the room. After having thought the girl was dead, it was such a relief to know that she was fine.

"You're okay." Hermione said weakly and the girl hugged her.

"Me? What about you?" Katie said as she pulled back from the girl. "You could have died."

"I thought you did die." Katie said.

"I was worried, too." Harry seemed to suddenly be in the room.

"Where did you come from?" Hermione asked.

Harry laughed and shook his head, taking a seat next to her bed.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Better than before." She promised.

"I hope there's still some room for me." A voice came from the doorway.

If she could have, Hermione would have jumped out of the bed and rushed over to where Draco stood. As she was being tortured she thought she would never see him again. Never hear his kind words, feel his soft touch, just be with him in general.

"Of course." Hermione told him.

Draco smiled as he walked over.

"I'm so glad you're alright. I was so worried." He told her.

Hermione used all of her strength to push herself up into a sitting position. If Madam Pomfrey had seen what she had done, she was sure that the woman would scald her.

"Come here." She whispered.

The boy moved closer and when he was close enough the girl pulled him down into a kiss. It was a kiss that she never thought she would have the chance to give him. It was perfect.

* * *

**Hope you guys liked it. Please review! I love reading them, they usually make my day a little brighter.**

**Keep your eyes open for another chapter. I'm trying to get them out faster.**

**Also, keep an eye out for some banners on my profile. It'll put a face to Katie's character when I get them up. **

**Have an awesome week guys.  
**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hello hello my lovely readers. I know it's taken me forever but I got halfway through the chapter and I started having trouble. I started writing my next story while I was trying to finish this chapter.**

**So that's good news for those of you who are going to continue reading my stories after this one is done. **

**I won't be posting the other one for a while though. It's going to be a crossover between Twilight and Harry Potter. For those of you who hate Twilight, don't worry I'm not a fan either.**

**I just thought of a really cool plot that I think you'll like. There won't be a whole lot about the Twilight world but it does come into play and there will be very little Bella in the story. **

**Most of what you dislike about Twilight probably won't be a part of the story. And for those of you who do like it, I'm not trying to start some kind of debate. You like it, that's fine with me.**

**I don't like it and that's alright, too. Lets just all live in harmony here people. I currently have a five day weekend so my goal is to post at least one more time during it's course.**

**This chapter is dedicated to TheMoreSmutTheBetter and ToDieIsAnAwefullyBigAdventure.**

**Happy reading guys.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 17: Losing The Advantage**

**

* * *

**

The nightmares were the worst of it. She was a strong girl but every night since she had returned, she would wake up screaming. Her dreams brought her back; she would be lying on the floor again. Bellatrix was always standing over her, laughing her cruel laugh and she could almost feel the pain again. It was like it had etched itself to her mind and she couldn't hide from it. She would plead for Draco to come and save her but he never would. All that would come was more pain, more laughter and the sickening smile of Bellatrix Lestrange.

Things had changed a lot since they got back to Hogwarts. Draco had stopped working on the cabinet. Voldemort knew they were together and if they saw him again he would surely try to kill them both. Draco knew too much about the inside, not everything but more than he should. Hermione finally came out and told Draco that she had known all along. He felt stupid for not realizing it before but they decided to keep it from Harry. He was tolerating Draco a little more, and it would be foolish to fuck that up. The line was thin enough already.

There was something about the whole situation that was so weird to her. It was just too... too perfect. Sure, Voldemort was probably out to kill the both of them now but why did it work so well? She knew it couldn't have been more than a couple days that she had been gone, but why did Voldemort trust Draco so blindly? The voice of her old self kept telling her it was all a set up. Things were never that perfect. Was Draco working with Voldemort still? Was it all just a plan to bring Harry down? She knew better though. She knew that it was stupid of her to let the thoughts scare her. She trusted Draco and she would trust him as blindly as Voldemort had if the situation came down to it. There was just something about him and how they had gotten to know each other that made her trust him. Was that a mistake? No! She had to stop.

Things were slowly spinning out of control. She was never supposed to change things but everything was going in such a different direction than it had the first time around. Obviously Draco wasn't going to sneak the Death Eaters into the castle. That was totally out of the question now. It didn't even seem like they had a choice as to when they would start their quest now. It was probably out of anger, but Voldemort's attacks had suddenly gotten worse. Since she had escaped, three wizarding villages had been completely raided and in the end there were twelve people dead. They had to make a plan. Thankfully they had the advantage, or so they thought.

"Ms. Granger, the situation seems to have spun out of control." Dumbledore said, she and Draco were sitting in his office.

"I tried not to change anything, sir. I really did but it got so complicated." Hermione said, frowning.

"So I take it there will be no following through on Mr. Malfoy's mission?" Dumbledore asked.

Draco's eyes grew wide, "You knew?"

Dumbledore gave a nod.

"Sir I'm so sorry!" Draco came out immediately. Someone knowing you were out to kill them was probably an awkward moment at best, "He threatened to kill my family. I had to pr-."

"It's quite alright, Mr. Malfoy. I was rooting for you."

"To kill you?"

"Yes." Dumbledore gave another nod. "But there are more important things for us to discuss tonight."

Draco seemed slightly dazed. In that moment he probably thought Dumbledore was more insane than ever. What kind of person allows a teenager to work toward their death without an objection? Hermione knew that it was more complicated than that though. It was quite ingenious in her mind.

"I'm sorry to tell you, Ms. Granger, but now I think we will be counting on you a whole lot more than the last time. You are the one who knows all of the answers. You know how to defeat the dark lord. I haven't even gotten so far. I think it's time you shared." Dumbledore said.

Hermione knew that at some point this would come into play. She knew where all of the Horcruxes were and how to destroy them. She knew how to get rid of the Dark Lord. Being one of the few people in the world who knew this, it was actually quite a chilling feeling.

"I-."

But something was terribly wrong. She couldn't remember. It was something she had thought about over and over again since she had come back in time but she couldn't remember. It was as though there was some big block in her mind. It was a big black hole. Everything was gone.

"No." She whispered.

"Excuse me, Ms. Granger?"

"I-I can't remember. Why can't I remember?"

"Were these events at all on your mind while you were being tortured?" Dumbledore sat forward, his face far more serious than before.

The girl gave a short nod. He didn't even need to explain his question any further. She understood right away. Madam Pomfrey had told her that she could experience memory loss. This was probably the worst thing that she could have forgotten about.

It now appeared that they had lost the small advantage they had.

* * *

Hermione's head was swimming with ideas; horrible thoughts on what may have happened. Draco reckoned it was just because of the torture but Hermione had a feeling it was gone for a different feeling. Had Voldemort known in the first place? Had her barrier somehow come down when she was being tortured? She would have been in too much pain to notice so he could have easily erased the block from her memory. She knew everything before and she could have helped Harry take Voldemort down within the week, but now the tables had turned and Voldemort had the upper hand.

"You have to stop worrying about it." Draco said to her softly and kissed her temple.

She would have loved to have hidden her worried feelings from Draco but he knew her better than that. She was even trying to avoid Harry because she didn't want him knowing there was something wrong. But at least with Harry she could claim that she was still shaken up about what had happened. And although it was true, Draco knew that the reason for her new worries was not because of that. She had changed everything. If she had just stuck to what happened last time everything would have gone the same. Had she not fallen for Draco her best friend would have lived. Now there was a chance he was a die. There was an even bigger chance that Voldemort would win. The wizarding world would suffer and it would be all of her fault. There was so much guilt and pressure weighing on her shoulders; she felt as though she were about to break down.

"I'm sorry." She whispered back. Her eyes adverted shamefully to the ground.

"Don't be," He said with a frown. "None of this is your fault. Things would have changed anyway. Do you honestly remember every detail of everything you did the last time?"

Hermione bit at her lip, thinking about his words. He did have a point. Even the smallest detail could change something. She had chosen not to talk to Ron and somehow out of that a Halloween Ball had been created. It was that one simple decision that had thrown everything out of balance. It lead to Draco which lead to everything else.

"I suppose you're right." She told him.

The boy smiled at her and wrapped his arm tightly around her. "We're going to do what we can to take him down. You just have to stop dwelling on it."

"I just... I feel like I owe Harry some kind of explanation for... well for possibly ruining his life." She leaned into Draco.

"You didn't. Did he even end up with Katie last time?" Draco asked.

Hermione shook her head and uttered a single word, "Ginny."

Draco laughed; he knew that Harry was a little more than creeped out by Ginny's obsessive ways. "Well then I reckon he's happier this time around isn't he?"

Hermione thought about it for a moment. Again, Draco was right. Hermione had once thought that Harry was happy with Ginny, but seeing him with Katie made her think otherwise. She had never seen him so happy than when he was with Katie. The two were absolutely perfect for one another. Maybe her changing things really wasn't so terrible after all. She knew her best friend was in love and he of all people deserved what he had with Katie.

"I think I should tell him." She said suddenly, her voice was serious.

"What?" Draco asked, looking over at her quickly.

"I think I should show him what happened. He's my best friend. He deserves to know and I feel so terrible just letting him fall like this."

Draco's face was a little bit harder but she knew that he wouldn't argue. They were best friends and if she wanted it to happen, chances were it would happen.

* * *

Hermione knew that Draco wasn't completely on board with telling Harry but the time had come. He was over ridden with guilt and she couldn't keep it hidden from him any longer.

"Harry... could I talk to you?" She asked quietly as the two sat in the Gryffindor common room. "In private." She added, giving Katie and apologetic smile.

"Er... sure." She could tell by his voice that he knew something was up.

Hermione got up from her chair and motioned for him to fallow her. She already had everything set up in the room of requirements. That was really the only place they could get any privacy. Harry followed her the whole way there in silence. It didn't take them long to get there and Harry didn't seem too surprised by where they ended up. She walked briskly in front of the door three times and let them into the room that she and Draco had made their hide out.

Draco sat quietly on the sofa and nodded to Harry as Hermione lead Harry over to the corner of the room where the pensive sat. Her heart was hammering at an alarming rate and it felt a little hard to breathe but she knew this was something that she had to do. She was scared that Harry would be mad at her. She had lied to him a lot over the year, she had hidden things from him and kept secrets that involved him. It would be a lot for him to take in but she knew that the time had come for Harry to know the whole truth.

"You know that something has been going on with me." She told him, biting at her lip nervously. When had she even developed that habit?

Harry just gave a short nod.

"And you told me I could tell you when I was ready and well... I think I am now." She told him, pointing at the pensive. She raised her wand to her temple and found the memories that she had locked far away in her mind. As quickly as she could she dropped them into the pensive and looked over at Harry, then to Draco.

"Are you coming?" She asked Draco.

The man shook his head, "I think this time it should be between you and Harry. I'll be here for you when you get back." He promised.

Hermione nodded and motioned Harry to go into the bowl. After she did she quickly followed and once again fell into the past she wanted nothing to do with.

She had chosen to show him the same ones that she had shown Draco and he acted the same way. When they found themselves in the cozy little apartment Harry found himself confused. He was in the memory and yet he could not remember it at all. In fact, Hermione knew that he knew it had never happened. As the memories progressed Harry seemed to get more and more confused. A few times he would glance over at Hermione but then he would go back to watching the memories. When it came to the last memory Hermione decided to watch Harry instead. By the look on his face she was guessing that everything had just clicked in his mind.

"No..." He said and looked over at her; his eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open slightly. "This all actually happened?" He asked.

Hermione nodded. "The first day I came back... it was that day that I hugged you in the hallway. I just hadn't seen you in so long. I missed you." She looked away; she knew the rest of it would click in his mind soon.

"He actually did those things to you?" His voice sounded strained. She knew he was mauling over the fact that his best friend wasn't such a great guy after all.

Hermione nodded.

"Is that why you avoided him all year?"

She just nodded again.

She felt his arms wrap tightly around her, the memories were over and they just stood in nothingness.

"Wait... did we win last time?" He asked, pulling back enough to look down at her face.

The girl nodded, tears were beginning to sting her eyes.

His face lit up and she knew why. "That's great! Hermione we can defeat him! With you we can defeat him." His voice sounded excited but that just made the tears fall faster.

"I thought so, too." She choked out; she was worried he would be disappointed. "Since that night... I- I haven't been able to remember any of it."

His face fell instantly. "Do you think he knows? Do you think he took them?"

"It's possible." Hermione said, looking up. "I'm so sorry Harry."

Harry stepped away from her a bit, his face looked devastated. "It's not your fault. Do you think you'll be able to remember them?" He asked, a bit of hope sparked his voice for a split second.

"Maybe, but I honestly don't know." She told him. "We should get out of here." She told him as she looked out into the nothingness of the pensive.

Seconds later they were once again standing in the Room of Requirements. Draco was standing there, ready to wrap his arms around Hermione. For a few moments the three of them just stood there silently. Hermione couldn't even look at Harry. She didn't want him to know that she was the reason that everything was going wrong.

"Well..." Harry's voice broke the silence. "If we bee him once..."His voice trailed off, Hermione looked over at him. "I'm more than sure we could do it a second time Hermione. You shouldn't be upset. Having that information would have been amazing and the job could have been done so much quicker but we didn't need it the first time around, did we?"

Hermione shook her head. They had been chucked into the mission with little information the first time. So why couldn't Harry be right? Why couldn't they finish it again?

"You're right..." She admitted.

"Of course I'm right." He chuckled, obviously trying lighten the mood.

* * *

_Elsewhere in the castle._

"Gin... I'm not sure if I want to follow through with this anymore." Ron said nervously.

Ginny spun around, glaring daggers at her brother.

"Really? So you just want to stand around and watch as that slimy git gets his way with Hermione?" She asked, taking a step closer to her brother.

Ron swallowed hard, thinking about what his sister was saying.

"No..." He admitted.

"When this is done you will have Hermione and I will have Harry. We both need this Ronald." Ginny assured him. "Just think about it. Think about the way she looks in his arms, the way she kisses him. That could all be you. The two of you could be happy together." She began dragging her brother back down into the whole she had dug for the both of them.

Ron's other thoughts disappeared at these images. It was what he wanted. All he wanted.

"Okay, lets do it." He told his sister.

"Did get any?" She asked him.

Ron simply nodded and pointed to the bag he had set on the counter, beside the sink. Their meeting place had become the boys washroom on the third floor.

"Good." Ginny smiled cruelly, if Ron was in his right mind he would have realized how truly insane his little sister was becoming. The obsession was beginning to warp her mind in ways no one thought possible.

"Perfect. We will do it soon."

"Will it work?" Ron asked, the nervousness returned to his voice.

"Well... if it doesn't I have more drastic measures in mind. But for now this should do." She promised her brother and turned to look in the mirror.

Ginny could no longer be seen in the reflection. Her face held the evil nature that one would see when they looked at someone like Bellatrix, her eyes were no longer warm with life but instead they were cold and hallow. Ginny Weasley had taken a turn for the worst. And someone was going to pay for it.

* * *

**A/N: It just drives you crazy doesn't it?**

**Well I hope you guys liked it. This chapter was particularly hard for me because I hadn't actually planned on taking her memory away. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.**

**What kind of story would it be if they were just able to run out and fix the problem without having to work for it.**

**So let me see. **

**Usually I ask you guys some kind of question but today I have decided you should ask the questions. As me anything but keep in mind there are some questions I can't answer, but most I will.**

**You can ask me about the story, about me, even about my next story. I won't give away the plot because I don't want someone else taking it before I can get it up.**

**But questions are allowed. I'll answer them in the next chapter.  
**

**Plus, if I haven't posted by Sunday someone should message me and pester the crap out of me until I post a chapter.**

**Have an awesome day.  
**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Hey guys, I know I said I would update earlier but I had a crappy power outage. I stayed up waiting for it to end so I could update for you guys so I hope you enjoy this.**

**Actually, I would like to ask in advance that you don't hate me for this latest update.**

**You know how I am. I always make things all perfect and good only to ruin it a few chapters later.**

**But another thing you know about me is that I usually fix things too, so don't worry! Be happy.**

**I have to warn you before hand that this chapter contains sexual subject matter so children cover your eyes. **

**This chapter is dedicated to JaceDamian23 && LilyDrippingTears && Ava-Potter Gal.

* * *

Chapter Eighteen: A Victory At Last.  
**

* * *

An evil smirk crossed Ginny Weasley's face as she made her way down the hall. In the background she could hear the heavy sobs of a girl who used to be her friend. The smirk grew into a smile as the images of the other girl's body lying on the cold stone floor, crying as hard as she could. Things had ended up working out better than she could have ever imagined. With that information she hardly had to do any work. It was perfect, things were finally turning out the way she wanted them. People should have known better than to mess with a girl as strong as she was.

"It worked." She said with a sing a song tone as she entered the room. "We win." She said to the two other figures that were standing there and waiting.

Two Days Earlier.

Hermione and Draco sat in the Room of Requirements. With the mission out of the way they now had a lot more time to spend together. Everything seemed to be falling into place for Hermione. Draco even broke down and told her everything only to find out seconds later that she had known the whole time. Hermione had a feeling that Dumbledore wouldn't be too pleased with the sudden change of events but she was to happy to care. This opened up so many doors. Before she believed that if Draco succeeded, which he would have, they would have been forced different ways. But now he had given up the Dark Side and they could just be happy together.

"I love how happy you are." Draco told her as he played with her curls.

"It's all because of you." She smiled. Even the nightmares hadn't been able to bring her down.

"I can't believe you know." He told her as he leaned closer so that his forehead was resting on the side of her head.

"I can't believe you didn't know I knew." She teased.

"I know. You're so sneaky." He breathed against her sensitive skin softly. "I think there's some Slytherin in you."

Hermione chuckled and closed the book she had been attempting to read.

"Doubtful."

"We could always change that." He said in a suggestive way.

Hermione couldn't help but blush furiously at these words. She knew the meaning behind the words, and it was defiantly quite far from what they had just been discussing.

"I think you'd like that a little too much." She breathed heavily, swallowing a bit harder than she really needed to.

"Maybe," He whispered as his hand made its way to her thigh. "But I think you would love to have some Slytherin goodness inside of you."

The boy didn't wait for her to say anything else, he took her earlobe between his teeth and nibbled at it softly as his hot breath continued to tickle her skin. Her mouth opened slightly and her eyes started to slide closed. Draco began to suck softly on her earlobe earning a small moan that she hadn't meant to let pass her lips. The boy slowly pulled Hermione onto his lap and within seconds she could feel his intentions, as if that she hadn't known what they were beforehand.

"Draco." Hermione whispered softly.

She could feel a long forgotten heat making its way through her body. The boy pulled her closer to him and moved his lips down to her neck. He slowly kissed down to her collar bones. But Hermione knew that she had to stop things.

"Draco stop." She whispered. She felt terrible for doing it but she had to.

Draco pulled back a little and looked at her, "What's wrong." He whispered.

"We can't do this." She felt even worse at these words.

Draco frowned, "What?"

"We can't do this. Not now." She told him.

The boy let out a sigh and his hands fell from her sides. She knew how he felt. It had gotten her pretty worked up as well but it just wasn't how she wanted it to happen. There was something in her mind telling her that it just wasn't the right time. She wanted it, there was no denying that. The way he made her feel in such a short time like that was more than Ron had ever made her feel throughout the whole thing.

"I'm really sorry." She slipped off his lap and started at him for a moment.

"It's okay." He assured her. The boy leaned over and kissed her forehead before he got up and started heading to the door.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

The boy chuckled softly and turned his head to look at her for a moment, "There's a cold shower calling out to me back in the Slytherin dorms." He told her before he disappeared out of the door.

The girl sighed and laid back on the sofa. She felt guilty, upset and completely unsatisfied.

"That was just great of me." The girl thought aloud, now wishing that she had chosen to act differently. If she had they would both be happy.

One Day Earlier.

"You wanted to meet me and I assume it was for a reason so could we cut the small talk and just get to the point?" Pansy demanded.

"Fine." Ginny said in a cold voice. "I hear you have information."

"What kind of information?" Pansy asked, sitting up a bit straighter.

"Information about Draco Malfoy." Ginny said, tapping her fingers against the table she stood in front of.

Pansy raised an eye brow, "What's in it for me?"

"Well we're looking for information to break him and Granger up. So I'm sure you can see what's in it for you." Ron said.

"Well... there is something I think you could use against him." Pansy's smile grew several sizes.

Fifteen minutes later.

"That's perfect." Ginny's eyes lit up like Christmas lights. "And you're sure you can do this?"

"I would do anything to get Draco back." She looked back and forth between her two new companions. "Anything."

Earlier that day.

Hermione sat outside with Harry, Ron and Katie. The weather was growing warmer and it was getting more and more pleasant to sit outside.

"Can you believe the year is almost over?" Ron asked as they started out over the lake.

In the distance you could see tentacles bobbing along in the water.

"No." Harry sighed. "It's hard to believe that it was almost seven years ago that we first got here. We've all changed so much." Harry shot a glare at Ron with these words. No one else had been watching to see it though.

Keeping his promise to Hermione, Harry had not said anything about what he had learned about Ron. She knew it was the right thing. He was showing improvement and so he wasn't that person yet. They couldn't hate him for a person that he wasn't yet. Harry and Draco now seemed to share the same feelings for Ron.

Hermione felt slightly awkward at the hidden meaning behind these words and decided to attempt to change the subject.

"So what are you guys doing this summer?" She asked.

Katie seemed happy to jump in. "I was planning on spending some time with my older brother." She told them. "He graduated two years ago and I haven't seen him a whole lot since then."

"I didn't know you had a brother." Harry said.

Hermione let out a deep breath, glad that the conversation had taken a new direction.

"Oh, yeah I guess I didn't mention him. Maybe you could come over and meet him." Katie smiled and looked over at him.

Harry smiled back. "I would really like that."

The soft sound of wings flapping above made the four look up. Seconds later the owl landed in front of Hermione. The girl untied the note from its leg and unrolled it.

_Hermione,_

_Meet me in the Kitchens at 6:00pm._

_Draco._

Hermione smiled and pocketed the note. The kitchen was a place they had never met before, but maybe Draco had something special planned. A small voice in the back of her head told her this was probably another attempt to get lucky but she wasn't sure if she cared or not. If he did something special than maybe it would finally be right, maybe it would feel right. She wanted it too, the moment just never seemed right. The girl glanced at her watch; it was already 4:30.

"I have to go you guys." Hermione said and hopped up.

It sounded like it would be something special. Maybe a romantic dinner, perhaps a picnic of sorts. Either way she wanted to look nice for it. So she would go up to her dorm, shower and get ready for what could be a very special night.

An hour and fifteen minutes later.

Hermione knew that she was already fifteen minutes early. She was sure he probably expected it though, she usually was early. The girl nervously made her way into the dungeons and continued on down the corridor. As she was walking she could hear some shuffling coming from a nearby broom cupboard. She wasn't stupid enough not to know what was going on inside of it. It was no secret amongst the students what really went on inside of them. Although she was a prefect she was too even try to break it up.

Out of nowhere the sound of something heavy crashing to the ground made her freeze and glance around. She couldn't see anything that could have made the sound. It didn't make sense. Almost instantly followed by the sound another disturbing noise filled the corridor.

"Draco." A girl's voice came out in moans from the cupboard she had just passed.

Hermione froze and turned around to stare at the door. Her heart was hammering furiously in her chest. Had she just heard what she thought she had heard? No... It couldn't be right. But then it happened again.

"Draco." The moan was louder and longer this time.

Was there another Draco in the school? Yeah... there had to be? The girl stood there frozen, trying to make up some excuse as to why there was a girl moaning her boyfriend's name in a cupboard that sounded like something was happening in.

She didn't want to see what may be beyond the walls of the small room but she had no choice.

Nervously the girl inched toward the cupboard and with nothing else left to do to avoid looking side she pulled the door opened. Her world did a complete one eighty. Everything was spinning. Nothing made sense anymore. Her whole world was crumbling beneath her feet. It was worst than she could have imagined.

The two figures didn't seem to notice her standing there, tears streaking down her face. Draco was holding Katie up against the wall and they were going at it like there was no tomorrow. Her boyfriend and one of her closest friends? It didn't add up. There was something wrong. It didn't make sense anymore.

Ten seconds was too much, she felt like she was about to vomit. That was when Katie opened her eyes and saw Hermione standing there.

"Hermione..." She said.

Draco's head shot around and their eyes met.

"You pig." She cried and took off.

"Hermione! It's not what you think." She heard Draco calling after her.

It didn't stop her thought. She wasn't stupid enough to believe his words. He was just another Ron. He was just another stupid man who didn't care about her. The tears blurred her vision and she wasn't sure where her legs were taking her. But eventually she felt a door handle and she forced her way into the room. The girl sank to the floor, sobs forcing their way through her body. She couldn't believe how stupid she was. She couldn't believe that she had let another stupid boy in just to break her heart.

Outside Ginny pulled an all too familiar invisibility cloak off her herself and stood there with a pleased look on her face as she stood there listening to Hermione crying. It worked just as she knew it would. People really should have been a little more careful with details about their personal lives. When they didn't it became all too easy for people to use it against them.

An evil smirk crossed her face as she made her way down the hall. In the background she could still hear Hermione's heavy sobs. The smirk grew into a smile as the images of the other girl's body lying on the cold stone floor, crying as hard as she could. Things had ended up working out better than she could have ever imagined. She couldn't believe how easy everything had become after such a small piece of information was given to her. It was perfect, things were finally turning out the way she wanted them. People should have known better than to mess with a girl as strong as she was.

"I worked." She said with a sing a song tone as she entered the room. "We win." She said to Pansy and Ron who were standing there waiting for her. Everything was finally perfect.

* * *

**A/N: I know! It's terrible and you have no idea what to believe at this point.  
What was the information that Pansy gave them? Was it that Katie and Draco were sleeping together all alone? Or something else?**

**Dun Dun Dunnnnn.**

**So here is some answering to the questions I got via messages and reviews.**

**Will Dumbledore still be murdered? **_Well I didn't want to give this away but after thinking about it I decided there was really no difference in sharing it or not. There was really no way to keep him alive. I think it would have been pretty out there to magically find some cure and if Draco won't, then Snape would have to otherwise he would die. And if he didn't the curse would kill him eventually anyway so sadly I do have to say that Dumbledore will be dying, yes._

**Hermione, Draco, Katie, and Harry are all gonna live happily ever after right? right? **_This is one of those questions that I can't answer because it would ruin the ending! I'm sorry because I would just love to tell you how it ends. There's going to be so much going on. What I can tell you though is there will be happy endings for some people, while for other people there won't be happy endings. There will be deaths that happened in ways that you wouldn't expect and there is to be a happy ending you will not have expected! I probably just added more questions than I did answers. Sorry!_

**Why is Ginny so crazy? She wasn't like this when Harry was going after Cho. **_Well for me a number of things kind of added up for her. During the summer she and Harry had been spending time together. I still see her as that creepy fan girl and for me that will never change. Maybe you don't but I still do. What made her snap here is that it got her hopes up. It didn't bother her with Cho because she didn't really see it going anywhere with them. I believed I could see jealousy in OoTP but she knew it was just some crush that wouldn't work so it didn't bother her. Ginny was always spoiled more than her siblings so she was used to getting what she wanted. When Katie snatched Harry up it sort of snapped something inside of her because she was supposed to be her best friend and in her mind she could actually see it working for him. When Hermione rejected her brother, which she was so determined to mettle in that just added to the pile and then Harry standing up for Hermione sort of just continued to add onto that. In my mind all of the events and some broke Ginny. It was just a downward spiral for her and it does happen. To say the least she isn't in the right mind state and it's making her act out in ways that she may not have done in the novels. I know that maybe people like Ginny and I don't want to offend them by making her evil. It was just something I did for this story and I'm sorry if you dislike it. I wasn't doing it without means or without reason. So here you go._

**Was it really the curse that caused Hermione's memories to be lost? **_Honestly? No there's a little more to the story that we don't know about quite yet. I'm not going to give away the details but I had to plant that little seed for them to believe. It will come out eventually but if I just did that I don't think it would have really made sense. I know that Alice and Frank Longbottom basically lost their minds for it so if I really wanted to I could have made it into that, but that wasn't where I was going with it. _

**How did you come up with the plot for this story?**_ Well all of my plots just come out of no where. I carry a note pad around with me 24/7 because my mind is always sprouting off amazing ideas. I got a few ideas but they were just strands of ideas. When I was looking over my weekly bits it just sort of clicked in my head. Hermione and Ron were fighting a lot turned into abusive relationship. A different time travel story turned into Hermione messing with a cursed clock and after that it was just boom boom boom ideas sprouting everywhere. _

**How much will your next story revolve around the Twilight world? **_Not a lot. I'm not a huge fan of the Twilight world. The novels weren't very good in my mind. But it was the same thing with this story. One idea lead to another and it just all fell into place. The Twilight World is really just a minor factor to the actual plot of the story. But it is still a cross over nonetheless. I think __that even if you aren't a twilight fan you should check it out. The first few chapters will be in the Twilight world but after that it goes to the Potter world and it stays there._

**How many stories do you have planned after this one? **_A few. A lot of them are still bits and pieces but I do have a list of stories to write. I have them all plotted down in my trusty note book, just waiting to be put on fanfiction. Hopefully you guys stick with me because I can assure you that there will be more Dramonie stories to come!_

**I'm going to try to have the next chapter up in a few days. Let me just say it's going to change everything about this story as we knew it. It's the chapter we've all been waiting for. Most of us probably just didn't know it. Things will be resolved, things will be destroyed and after this there is no going back. Damned butterfly effect having to change everything huh? Ahh, well the next chapter is going to have some good in it though. So keep your heads up.**

**And I'm going to be putting those banners up in my profile. I know I promised them a few chapters ago but I've been busy. The one is pretty crappy but it's got Katie in it so I decided to keep it.**

**And the other one could use some work but it's actually quite nice in my opinion. Everything in the image has some relevance to the story so keep that in mind when you're looking at it.**

**Have a fantastic day everyone. And keep asking questions if you have them. I'll try to keep answering.  
**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: I know, I suck I haven't posted in a while. My life got all hectic again. The only reason I had time to post today is because I'm not allowed to leave my house. I passed out at school because Chemistry class has taken over my life. I was in the hospital for two days and they just let me come home. I'm not supposed to focus on school work or anything stress related so here you go.**

**It kind of sucks but I'm so tired, so right now it'll have to do. I'm like about to pass out so I haven't really done much proof reading so please forgive how crappy it is. At least I posted I suppose.**

**So a few people have been telling me I should put some personal experience into my writing so I tried it out. The first bit here is something that I went through three years ago when my best friend died. **

**So tell me how it worked out.**

**As you will see this chapter jumps around a lot, but I thought it would be interesting to see it from all perspectives of the battle.**

**And it kind of jumps around through different people throughout the chapter. **

**This chapter is dedicated to everyone. Usually I would go through and find the reviewers I liked the most but I'm tired. I already have the questions written out so they will be in the Authors Note section below. **

**Happy reading.  
**

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen : On Top Of The Tower**

* * *

Hermione had no idea how long she had been laying there. She had managed to cry herself dry and the floor had gotten noticeably colder. From what she heard the dungeons basically froze at night, but she had never really experienced it before then. She was freezing but she couldn't get up. Her body wouldn't allow her to move. She just wanted to lay there and die. Sometimes she couldn't even feel how truly cold it was because of how numb she had become. Her body ached from lying so still on the stone floor for so long but she couldn't move. She couldn't move even the smallest muscle, or even open her eyes. It had happened; Hermione Granger had finally been broken.

She didn't want to even try anymore. No matter how hard she tried so always got burnt. It was one hurt to many for her to deal with. She had just healed. She was just starting to love life again and it crashed down before her. The image of Draco holding Katie up against the wall, their moans, the expression on her face, it was all burned into her mind and it wouldn't leave her alone.

How could she have trusted him? She knew that he was bad right from the start. She knew that he was a player and he really didn't care about her. She just let her wild fantasies get the best of her again. The hope for that fairy tale happy ending and that oh so cliché Prince Charming. But she now knew that none of it was real. None of it would ever be real and there was no point in her even trying to convince herself otherwise. As far as she was concerned, she may as well have just stayed in the future. That hurt a hell of a lot less.

Eventually her mind ran away from her and all comprehension was lost. She couldn't remember where she was or why, her body still wouldn't allow her to move. She was so cold that it hurt but she didn't know what else to do. Shivers struck through her body again and again and again but still nothing changed. Consciousness began to fail her. Her mind was bobbing back and forth between being awake and being somewhere else. For a moment she thought she could hear something but she couldn't get the energy to figure out what it was or if it was even real.

Suddenly she felt like she was floating upward, warmth enveloped her completely. The girl tried to let out a sound but the words caught in her throat. Her body still refused to react to anything so she was just left to float along. In the very back of her mind a small voice was faintly wondering if she had died. Perhaps this was her spirit floating along in the after world. At this small thought she couldn't help but feel at peace. She had endured far too much pain for one life time. If it was finally the end she would welcome it with open arms. She was not a weak girl, she never had been but everyone had their limit.

The floating went on for a while, when her mind would momentarily float back to awareness she could almost swear she could hear that sound again. She thought she could hear a voice shortly afterward but her mind had once again faded away. Peppermint; that was all she could smell. It was amazing but she wasn't sure where it was coming from. She didn't want it to stop though. Why did it smell like peppermint? Suddenly she got even warmer. It was only then that she realized how truly cold she was. She could feel the warmth around her but she could feel how frozen her insides felt. The girl began to shake uncontrollably. She couldn't stop it if she tried. Did this mean she was still alive?

The girl wanted to open her eyes and see what was going on but she couldn't do it. Her body refused her any form of controlled movement. Perhaps it had broken too. Maybe she wasn't even inside of her body anymore. The extreme warmth became comforting, familiar almost but it was exactly what she needed and she wasn't sure why. Soon the warmth began to pull her further and further away from reality until the world was lost to her completely. Her mind disappeared into a peaceful slumber, trying to recover from the events of that day.

* * *

Her body felt stiff when she woke up. She felt as though the left half of her body had just gotten hit by some kind of vehicle. The girl let out a small groan and let her eyes flutter open. The room she was in was familiar; she had spent a lot of time in the room after all. The faint scent of peppermint lingered. She had to blink a few times before the room came fully into focus and her mind was slow to begin working. What was she doing in the room of requirements? She knew that she had been in the dungeons. As much as she wished it to be, she knew it wasn't a dream.

"Hey." A familiar voice whispered behind her.

In that instant her stomach dropped and she jumped off the sofa, only to regret it seconds later due to her sore side. She whipped around and wasn't surprised to see Draco laying there; he seemed confused that she had jumped away from him.

"What's wrong?" He frowned at sat up.

"What's wrong?" She asked, her eyes stung with tears again. It was all still so fresh in her mind. Was he really that big of an ass? Did he think that she was that stupid? That she would forget about the heart break over night? "You know what's wrong. You're such n ass. Just stay away from me."

The girl rushed over to the door without looking bad but before she could open the door she felt him wrap his arms around her and pull her back.

"What did I do?" He asked, turning her around.

He stared down at her with concerned eyes; he actually looked like he had no idea what was wrong. No wonder she had fallen for him. He was so good at lying. He probably never cared for her in the first place. She was probably just that girl he couldn't get so he had to put the extra effort in. Knowing her oh so fantastic luck this had probably been his plan all along. Well he fooled her and he had almost won.

"I'm not stupid, Malfoy. Don't treat me like I am. I'm not going to believe it was all a dream or something. I walked in on the two of you so just leave me alone. I want you out of my life." Hermione said, her voice was shaking from a mixture of emotions but she wasn't going to back down. There was no way that she would let him turn into another Ron. No one deserved to put her in that place again. No matter how much she may have cared for them.

"Hermione what are you talking about." Draco's face continued to give her that concerned look.

"You think you can shag one of my best friends and get away with it? You're such a pig." She was getting angrier and her voice showed it. "I walked in on the two of you and you know it. Drop the act." She pushed him away and rushed out of the room. This time he didn't move. He just stood, rooted to the spot and stared after her. The look of confusion never left his face for a second.

* * *

Hermione hurried to the Gryffindor Tower. She had to find Harry. She wasn't sure how she was going to do it but she had to tell him about what she had witnessed the night beforehand. Guilt hung on her every movement at the thought of it. Her best friend was finally happy in a relationship and she was the one that had to ruin it. If Katie and Draco had done the crime, then why did she feel like the bad guy?

"Password?" The fat lady asked as she came to the portrait hole. The woman in the picture didn't seem to be in a very good mood but then again Hermione wasn't either.

"Tentacle Tart." Hermione muttered and made her way into the common room.

Nausea took hold of her at the sight of Katie and Harry sitting together on the sofa. Her chocolate eyes darkened at the sight of the girl. She had never felt the need to get into any kind of physical fight with someone before but the urge was racing through her body. She didn't look at Katie as she neared the two. She had a feeling that if she did she would have lost it.

"Harry can I talk to you." Hermione's voice came out forced.

Harry looked up with a smile on his face and nodded.

"Yeah sure." The boy got up and walked with her to the other side of the room.

"I have something I ne-" Before she could finish Harry cut in.

"I need to tell you something first." Harry said, she hardly ever saw him this excited. Hermione didn't bother to try cutting in. All she did was hope that this exciting news had nothing to do with Katie.

"Dumbledore wants me to go with him tonight!" Harry whispered excitedly.

Hermione's stomach dropped. She knew then that she couldn't tell him what had happened. He needed to keep his mind focused and if he knew Katie was cheating on him that wouldn't happen. If he didn't have the focus he needed, chances were he and Dumbledore would both die.

"Oh Harry, that's great." Hermione forced a smile.

"Yeah, so what was it you wanted?" Harry asked her, still beaming.

"Oh... uhm. I had already heard and I just wanted to tell you to be careful." She lied.

"Always the worrying one." Harry chuckled and hugged her.

The girl let out a deep sigh and returned the hug. It was something she had needed terribly; a hug from her best friend. She wanted to keep hugging him but she wouldn't be able to explain why so she allowed the hug to end quickly.

"Look Hermione..." Harry's voice trailed off slightly. "After everything that has happened I can't help but have a bad feeling about tonight. If something happens when Dumbledore and I are gone you have to get the D.A together." The boy handed her an old coin from their D.A and a small vile of liquid luck.

Hermione observed the small vile in her hand she shook her head. "Harry, you need this more."

"Hermione I'm going to be with Dumbledore, I'll be fine. You guys won't be." Harry urged her.

"Fine..." The girl sighed and stared up at her friend. "Be safe..."

"You too." Harry told her and pulled her into another hug. He kissed the top of her head softly and pulled away again. "I love you Hermione." The boy smiled and hurried back over to Katie.

After taking a shaky breath the girl hurried up to her dorm and collapsed on her bed. How was she going to do it? What if Harry was right and something happened. Draco had probably been working on the cabinet the whole time. She knew what would happen so she needed to think of some kind of plan.

* * *

"And what is the next step?" Pansy asked, watching Ginny as she paced around the small room.

"We wait. We know that Hermione hates Draco now. She's likely gotten mad at him so they're split and you guys have your opportunities. And it's only a matter of time before she tells Harry and then I get mine." Ginny smiled evilly.

"It worked perfectly." Ron said coolly as he twirled his wand between his fingers.

"I think you two should get on it." Ginny told them sharply, "You wouldn't want to miss a good opportunity."

* * *

"You've been a stranger lately." Pansy said, standing a few feet behind Draco in the hallway.

The boy glanced over his shoulder, his face held a stone cold expression. "I'm not in the mood right now, Parkinson."

Pansy raised an eyebrow and fixed her dark green shirt at these words, allowing a bit more cleavage to be revealed. He hadn't addressed her by her surname in a long time.

"Oh don't be like that, Draco." Pansy purred and hurried to keep up with him. When she got the chance she side stepped in front of him, causing the two to bump into one another.

"Leave me alone." He told her.

"What's wrong? Mudblood girlfriends see you for what you truly are?" She asked.

Draco stopped and snapped at her. She thought he was staring at her chest but she was wrong. His mind was working quickly. Was it a coincidence that she would say that? No, Pansy wasn't that smart.

"What did you do Pansy?" Draco demanded.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." A coy smiled took over her face.

Draco slammed the girl into the wall, holding her by the skimpy collar of her shirt. "What did you do?" He demanded again.

Pansy chuckled and winked at him. "Oh Draco you know I like it rough." She pushed out toward him put he just slammed her back into the wall.

"Don't play games with me. I know you fucking did something and I want to know what it was right now." His voice rose again.

"Draco I have no idea what you're talking about. And besides, you can't prove a thing..." The girl continued to smile.

Draco pulled out his and pointed it at her. "Tell me what I need to know."

"You won't do anything to me Draco." She rolled her eyes.

"Really? I'm tired of you fucking with my life. I'm tired of everyone fucking with my life. Tell me what I need to know Pansy, I'm not going to let any of _you people_ control my life anymore." He jabbed her slightly with his wand.

"I don't believe you."

The boy swallowed hard, not wanting to do what he had to do. "Silenco." He whispered. Her eyes grew a little.

"Going to tell me what I need to know?" She just shook her head.

"Have it your way." He spat. "Crucio!"

The girl crumpled to the ground with an agonized expression on her face. She appeared to be screaming but no words came out. After just a few seconds Draco lowered his wand, he didn't actually want to torture her. This was just the only way she would respond.

"Going to tell me yet?" He asked.

The girl stared up at him with large, fearful eyes and nodded.

With the flick of his wand the silence charm was removed. The girl was panting on the floor.

"Go on." The boy kept his wand pointed at her.

"I heard you talking to Blaise." The girl started, staring at the tip of his wand. "I heard you guys talking about... sex. He was going on about getting with that thick Hufflepuff girl and then he asked you how the Mudblood is in bed. I... I told the Weasley girl about how you struck out with her." The girl cringed, expecting another curse to be sent her way.

"What did she do?" Draco's face took in a light shade of red at these words.

"She had some polyjuice potion... I got some hair from you and Weasley got some hair from Potter's girlfriend. We sent her a note to meet you in the Kitchens and we got her to catch us having sex..." The girl swallowed hard and covered her face, expecting anything to come her way. "She thinks you cheated on her."

She felt a hand clutching her hair and she was pulled up. The girl gasped in pain.

"You're going to tell her." He snarled.

"No." The girl gasped as she felt his wand jab into her side.

"Are you sure?"

* * *

"Hey." Ron's voice broke through Hermione's thoughts.

"Oh... hello Ron." Hermione glanced at him for a moment and then went back to staring down the corridor.

"What's wrong?" He asked, stepping closer.

"Nothing, just thinking." Hermione told him. "Did Harry tell you?" She asked.

Ron nodded. "Yeah. It's hard to believe isn't it?" He asked.

"Do you think something will actually happen tonight?"

"I dunno. I'd like to think no but it's been getting worse out there."

"I'm scared Ron." Hermione admitted, she couldn't believe she was actually telling him these things. But she couldn't deny that she had seen many changes in him over the months. She would never consider a relationship with him again but it didn't mean they couldn't be friends again.

"I know." He told her, "I am, too. I can feel it Hermione. I can feel how much our world has changed."

Footsteps behind them caused them to turn their heads. Hermione felt her stomach jolt as Draco made his way toward them, dragging Pansy behind him.

"Hermione, look I know what you thought you saw but it's not what you think." He pushed Pansy toward her.

"Just leave me alone Draco." Hermione started walking away.

"Tell her, Pansy." Draco told her.

"It was a set up." Pansy croaked.

Hermione stopped for a moment and turned around. "I don't want to hear more lying." She said, forcing her voice to stay stable.

Ron stood to the side awkwardly, unable to react to the scene unfolding around him.

"Hermione please just listen to her." Draco pleaded.

"I heard Draco talking to Blaise about you turning him down. I told Ginny Weasley about it and we set you up." Pansy's eyes met with Ron's for a moment.

Hermione stared at Pansy. Ginny was the kind of person and Pansy had tried to get her killed. If Katie and Draco had been doing something and they were caught Ginny could have Harry and Pansy could have Draco. It made sense but something about the story just didn't seem right. It felt like there was something missing there.

"I don't believe you." Hermione said walked off again.

"Hermione don't do this." Draco ran after her, leaving Pansy and Ron by themselves.

"Leave me alone Draco." Hermione repeated.

Draco grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him. "Hermione listen to me. I've been chasing after you for months. That actually means something to me. I wouldn't hurt you, not after everything that you showed me." He told her. "I actually care about you Hermione. I've never really given a shit about any girl before. Don't just walk away from me now."

"How am I supposed to trust you?" She tried to push him away from her.

"Because I've never done anything to hurt you before." He leaned down and captured her lips with his own.

For a minute Hermione didn't even want to fight. He made her feel so good all the time and he was right, ne never had done anything to hurt her. But chances were he was just like Ron had been. She caught him; it was hard to believe it hadn't been real.

"I can't Draco." She told him as she pushed him away.

"Come on. What time was it at?" He asked desperately.

"Around six..." She rolled her eyes a bit. She knew he was going to try to pull some excuse out of nowhere.

"Come with me." Draco said, suddenly smiling.

"No, Draco." She said and tried to pull away again.

"Come on, I have proof that it couldn't have been me. I was with someone that I know you trust." Draco pleaded.

"Fine, but if I still don't believe you will you please just leave me alone?" The girl was trying to act strong, but she really wasn't.

* * *

"You didn't rat me out." Ron said, observing Pansy.

"No..." Pansy said and looked away from him.

"Why?"

"I figured that if I had to screw Ginny and I over it would do us well to still have someone on the inside." Pansy looked back at him. "They already didn't trust us so it made sense for us to be the bad guys. Now we can use you to our advantage."

* * *

Hermione watched as Draco rapidly knocked on the door of the Transfiguration Classroom. The girl had no idea where he was going with it but she couldn't help but feel curious.

The door opened and a stern looking McGonagall replaced it.

"What is it, Mr. Malfoy?" She barked, obviously a little irritated by his nonstop knocking.

"Sorry Professor. Uhmmm..." He looked back at Hermione for a moment. "I kind of... didn't show up for a date last night and Hermione thinks I stood her up. I was supposed to meet her at six and I forgot to let her know about detention. I was wondering if you could set this straight."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at his lie but she knew that it was probably better. The mention of sex in the broom cupboards would run it for a lot of people.

"Mr. Malfoy had detention last night from five to seven, Ms. Granger." McGonagall gave Draco an annoyed look. "I think it would do you well to tell your lady friends when you won't be showing up, Mr. Malfoy. There won't always be Professors around to save you. Now is that all?" She asked, glancing nervously back into the classroom.

"Is everything okay, Professor?" Hermione asked.

"Oh... yes. Everything's fine." McGonagall didn't seem so sure about her words but closed the door before the two could say anything else.

"What do you reckon is wrong?" Draco asked, staring at the closed door.

"Stress, maybe." The girl suggested.

Draco turned to Hermione and stared at her. "I told you I would never hurt you."

Hermione didn't say anything. She knew that there was no way around the proof he had given her. But it was still hard to trust after that had been thrown in her face.

"Come here." He whispered and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. "I'm so sorry you had to see something like that." He kissed her neck softly.

* * *

"You told him?" Ginny shrieked.

"I had no choice. He was using the cruciatus curse on me!" Pansy tried to explain.

"Is that so?" In the flick of her wand Pansy was withering on the floor, screaming at the top of her lungs. Too bad no one outside the room could hear her.

"Gin, stop it." Ron said, placing a hand on his sister's shoulder. "She has a plan."

"Do you still have the cloak?" Pansy asked as she struggled to sit up.

"No... I put it back in Harry's trunk. Do we need it?"

* * *

"Are you sure something's going to happen tonight?" Luna asked as she and Neville came to a halt beside Hermione and Draco in the hallway.

"Harry thinks so." Hermione looked at her watch. It was nearing eleven. "Just use the coins if something else happens."

* * *

They had been wandering around for a while. Nothing had happened. Hermione was beginning to think that nothing was going to happen. She was about to suggest to Draco that they should just head off to bed when a familiar heating sensation came from her pocket. Quickly she reached in and pulled out the coin which quickly cooled at her touch.

"Something happened." Hermione said and took off running.

Draco quickly followed behind her. As they reached the second floor loud noises could be heard from the floor below. There was the sound of crashing and shrieks from unsuspecting prefects.

"Hermione!" A hushed voice called out just around the corner.

As she and Draco turned the corner she came face to face with just a few of the exD.A members.

"What happened?" Hermione asked, keeping a low voice that could hardly be heard over all the noise from the floor below.

"Dean and Seamus were just walking through the Entrance Hall when Death Eaters swarmed in. Someone let them inside the castle." Neville explained.

Footsteps could be heard storming up the stairs, a lot of footsteps.

The girl pulled out the small vile and observed its contents.

"I don't know how long this will last but everyone take a sip and pass it on." Hermione told them, took a sip and passed it to Draco. She watched as the small vile went around the group.

"Okay. Katie, Cho, Angelina... you guys should alert the professors. Padma, Parvati, Dennis, go send an owl to the Ministry and the Order. The rest of us... we should go to the seventh floor and wait for them." Hermione couldn't help but feel nervous.

Without a complaint they all scattered, the echoing of footsteps trailed behind them but the faster they went the further behind the footsteps seemed to be.

"Hermione..." Draco panted slightly as they ran up the stairs. "Maybe you should wait somewhere safe."

Hermione looked to the side and glared at him.

"Are you kidding?" She asked. "This is my life Draco. Get used to it." She told him. There was no way she would give up fighting with her friends just for a boy.

"I just want you to be safe." He assured her and reached out for her hand.

"This isn't exactly the time for romance." Colin Creevy joked as he ran past the two.

Even while running it took them over five minutes to reach the seventh floor, but something didn't add up in Hermione's mind. Nothing seemed to add up anymore. How had they gotten into the school? Had Draco done it out of anger when she wouldn't listen to him? It seemed like the only likely scenario. She grabbed the sleeve of his stripped green and gray shirt and pulled him aside.

"Did you do this?" She whispered.

"What?" He asked. "No! Hermione I gave up on that after they abducted you. I don't know how they got in but it had nothing to do with me." Hermione narrowed her eyes at him for a moment and nodded.

* * *

"This was a brilliant idea." Ginny told Pansy as they watched from the shadows.

"You aren't worried about your friends dying?" Pansy asked as she watched Death Eaters storm up the stairs. A few teachers had already run past, a few students following in toe.

"No." Ginny shrugged. "I don't care about the life of others anymore." The girl chuckled.

"Are you going to join?" Pansy asked as a scream rang through the air.

"Maybe. " Ginny admitted.

* * *

Curses flew everywhere. A scream filled the air, it was a scream of pain but Hermione couldn't look away to see where it had come from. She dodged a spell and sent one back at Travers.

"Silly Mudblood." He mocked and sent another at her.

Another scream came but she couldn't look away. Was it someone from her own side? She knew that their side had doubled in size, if not more. The teachers and the Order had gotten there quickly but there was still no sign of the Ministry. What a surprise.

"Good night, silly, silly Mudblood." Travers flicked his wand.

"Hermione!" A voice screamed as she watched a green light soaring toward her. If was surreal, she couldn't comprehend what to do.

She felt herself shoved out of the way, causing her to hit the ground with a hard thump. The girl looked up to see Katie getting up beside her.

"You should have moved." The girl shook her head at Hermione.

"Thanks." Hermione gave a weak smile, hardly able to believe that hours beforehand she had wanted to harm the other girl.

"Who was screaming?" Hermione asked. For some reason they were going unnoticed on the ground.

"Fleur." Katie said and helped Hermione up.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Bill was attacked by Greyback when he was trying to save her. He's in pretty rough shape."

So Bill getting attacked was inevitable. She thought that things would have been different. Maybe some things were just meant to be though? After all Mrs. Weasley would never have accepted Fleur unless she had told her that she would love Bill even with the scars.

The girls ducked to avoid a flash of red light that was going right for their heads. Without another word they jumped back into battle.

A ways to Hermione's left Neville was fighting Bellatrix.

"You think you can defeat me, Longbottom?" Bellatrix asked, laughing.

"If I get the chance I'll fucking kill you." Neville told her. Hermione was surprised by how out of character the statement was but she was the woman who had taken his parents away from him.

Further beyond them Tonks and Lupin were doubling up on two Death Eaters Hermione didn't recognize. As the girl's eyes scanned the crowd she realized that Draco was nowhere to be scene. "Draco?" She called out but she couldn't find him anywhere.

"He's gone, Mudblood. He set you up." Pansy stepped out from the shadows.

"You're lying." Hermione said, keeping a cold expression on her face.

"Am I really? How much do you really know about him?" Pansy smirked as she stepped closer to Hermione.

"More than you do." Hermione glared at her.

"We're meant to be together." Pansy chuckled. "And I'm going to make sure we are."

"He never liked you." Hermione rolled her eyes. "It was an arranged marriage. He had no say in the matter."

"Is that what he told you?" Pansy laughed. "He asked me out in third year on his own, before we even knew about being arranged. He's always liked me, Hermione. You're just a game. He doesn't really care." Pansy smiled.

"You know, jealousy just makes you look even uglier." Hermione smiled back. She wasn't going to let this girl ruin what she and Draco had, not again.

"If you've got him wrapped around your finger then where is he right now?" Pansy asked.

* * *

"He's going to be in the tower anytime." Draco heard his cousin tell another Death Eater.

Draco's eyes shot over to the stairs which lead up to the Astronomy tower. When no one was looking he slipped into the shadow and up the steps. He raced to the top. Who was the 'he' they had been talking about? Were they talking about Voldemort? If so this was the perfect opportunity for him to do something about the evil bastard. When he got to the top he slipped into the shadows and waited. His hiding place was out of sight from the window so he had no idea if anyone was coming or not. He just had to stay and wait.

It wasn't long before the sound of feet making contact with the ground could be heard over by the window. Draco took a deep breath, getting ready for whatever was going to come. The boy leaned forward a bit and peaked around the corner.

* * *

"It doesn't matter. I'm sure he's fighting for our side." Hermione glared at Pansy.

"You're so cute, Mudblood; so trusting even though he's going to crush you."

"It's not going to work Pansy. I'm not falling for that again."

"He loves me." Pansy told him.

"He could never love you Pansy. You're nothing like him."

Pansy finally snapped and allowed her arm to swing forward, slapping Hermione right across the face.

* * *

"Why's the Dark Mark here professor?" Harry asked as they looked around the Astronomy tower.

"I'm not sure Harry." Dumledore sounded different. He sounded weak.

"Do you reckon someone died?" Harry asked.

"Harry... I need to tell you something." Dumbledore put a hand out to the wall to support himself. "It's about Ms. Weasley."

"Ginny?"

"Yes... back in your second year when..." Thunderous sounds began coming from the staircase. "Harry they're coming. Get under the cloak and don't come out unless I say." Dumbledore demanded.

* * *

Hermione gasped for a moment as she stared at Pansy, who simply began laughing.

"You're such a bitch Parkinson!" Hermione cried and lunged forward, fist first right into Pansy's face.

"Get away from me Granger!" Pansy cried as she tried to kick Hermione.

* * *

"Well, well, well..." Bellatrix smiled sickly as she climbed the last of the stairs, four Death Eaters following behind her. "Look at what we've got here."

No one noticed Draco in the shadows, they advanced right for Dumbledore.

"Bellatrix..." Dumbledore said weakly. "It's been a long time."

"A year is hardly a long time old man."

"Might I ask how you got into my school tonight? I was under the impression Mr. Malfoy had switched sides."

"He did. We had other help." Alecto Carrow chimed in.

More footsteps could be heard rushing up the stairs. Draco couldn't help but pray that it was the Order of the Phoenix. He stood no chance against the Death Eaters by himself.

"So impatient Bella." Snape's voice drawled from the top of the staircase.

"It looks like it's time for you to die now, Dumby." Amycus mocked.

Draco could hardly believe what he was doing but he jumped out from the shadows with his arm extended, pointing his wand into the group of Death Eaters.

"Leave him alone." Draco told them. 'I'm a dead man.' He thought.

* * *

Hermione wasn't sure how they had ended up on the floor but she was in a full contact, physical fight with a girl she couldn't stand. Every punch sent a wave of power through her body. It was so unfamiliar but it felt so natural. Perhaps it was just because it was a muggle battle. That was the best explanation she had for it. The two girls wrestled around on the floor, unnoticed by the rest of the battle. They were too focused to see what was going on around them. They didn't hear the screams or see the people who fell to the floor in pain.

"Hermione!" Dean pulled her off of Pansy, she tried to fight forward to give the girl another punch to the face.

"Hermione come on, we don't have time for this." Dean told her.

The girl remembered what was going on and looked around. Neville was unconscious or dead, perched up against a wall. She could see a few Weasley's struggling to keep up with the Death Eaters, teachers fighting together and at least a dozen people lying on the ground.

"Have you seen Draco?" Hermione asked, wiping away some blood as it dripped from the corner of her mouth.

"No, I haven't seen him since the beginning of the fight. McGonagall said we have to evacuate." He told her.

"No." She told him. A giant crash came from above. She quickly looked up and took in a deep breath. Of course! How had she not realized before. "Sorry, I have to go." She told Dean and ran off toward the Astronomy tower.

"Hermione come back! You're going to get yourself killed. It's wearing off." He called after her.

Apparently he was right because when she tried to get up the stairs of the tower she was thrown backward.

* * *

"How dare you stand in our way!" Bella cried as she stared out at her nephew.

"I'm not letting you ruin anymore lives Aunt Bella."

Bellatrix moved closer to her nephew and turned him around so that he was facing Dumbledore.

"You could do it yourself, you know?" She whispered as she leaned against him. "If you did that the Dark Lord would forgive you for your betrayal. He'll leave you and the Mudblood girlfriend of yours alone." Bella whispered in his ear.

"He would try to kill her." Draco growled.

"Not if you proved yourself worthy of his forgiveness." Bella whispered.

"No!" Draco roared and pulled away from her. "I know what you're doing. You're still judged by him for being related to the Malfoys! He can't look past all you've done until our family name is saved! I won't do this for you." He told her.

"Severus, please." Dumbledore's voice came from behind Draco.

All of the blood drained from Draco's face at his words. Was Dumbledore actually begging for his life? There was no way that Draco could stop them. There were too many of them.

Bellatrix smiled. "Last chance you little brat."

"No."

"Avada Kedavra!"

* * *

"Neville wake up." Luna pleaded, kneeling beside him.

The fight didn't stop though.

"It wasn't wise of you to come here tonight!" McGonagall told a Death Eater who she had been fighting with for about two minutes. The man fell to the floor just after she finished speaking.

"Horace what are you doing?" Professor Sprout asked as he pointed his wand at her throat.

"Choosing wisely." The man whimpered. "I'm sorry, dear."

"Traitor!" Little Denis Creevy said, hitting the man with a stun charm.

* * *

Draco's body went into shock as he watched the life leave Dumledore's eyes. The man fell backward and out the large window of the Astronomy Tower.

"No!" Draco screamed and turned around; pointing his wand at the first person it met. Amycus Carrow was hit by a green light and fell to the ground, lifeless.

At that moment Harry ripped the cloak off his body and extended his wand as well.

"Sectumsempra!" Harry yelled, pointing it straight at Bellatrix.

It just barely missed her and hit the wall behind her which cracked at the weight of the curse.

"I should have known you were near." Bellatrix smiled.

* * *

There was so much crimson, it was all over the place. That was all she could see was crimson.

"Hermione are you okay?" Dean rushed over to where she had landed.

"Ow." Was all she could say, her head was throbbing.

"I think you have a concussion." He told her and felt at where her head had made contact with the floor. When he pulled his hand back his fingers were covered in blood.

Hermione mumbled something that Dean couldn't quite make out. The room was swimming before her eyes.

"Hermione hang in there, don't pass out." Dean urged.

She tried to hang on; she knew it was bad to pass out after hitting your head.

"Dean... I'm so tired." She whispered and started allowing her eyes to droop closed. She couldn't recall why she shouldn't anymore.

"Hermione no, please stay focused."

"Just for a minute..." she mumbled.

"Hermione you can't do that." Dean told her, shaking her a bit. Luna joined his side. "So many people are counting on you Hermione."

"Harry needs you." Luna told her, not really sure what was going on. But she was always one for a positive pep talk. "We all need you."

"Draco..." She whispered.

"You want Draco?" Luna asked, looking around. "I don't see him. I'll go find him." The girl promised.

More screams could be heard from down the hall. It was followed by another scream.

"You killed her! You bastard!" Someone yelled but she couldn't make out who it was coming from.

"Hermione I'm going to get you to Madam Pomfrey." Dean told her and picked her up.

"Draco..." She whispered again.

Something loud from above sounded as though it crashed.

"The roof is caving in! Move!" McGonagall could be heard ushering everyone out of the fighting area.

Everything was lost to Hermione after that, yet again.

* * *

**A/N: I know, this chapter was a lot more fast paced and we saw a different side of many different people. **

**I would like to say that Hermione's insecurities are completely gone but that seemed unrealistic to me.**

**After so many years of abuse it doesn't just go away so I felt the need to show you it was still there.**

**So Slughorn switched sides. Dumbledore knew something about Ginny that he needed to tell Harry but he never got the chance!**

**A lot went on if you pay attention to the small things. **

**Foreshadowing? I think so.**

**Time for questions so I can go to sleep.**

**Your new story sounds interesting. Is there a specific pairing?**_ It's going to be a Hermione/Edward pairing. But it's not just a romance, I'm not sure there actually will be a whole lot of romance until the last few chapters. It won't be as long as this one will be though. I would say about twenty chapters at the very most. There will be some Bella/Edward in the first few chapters but it won't last._

**Will it still be set in Hogwarts/Harry Potter world or Forks/Twilight world? **_The first few chapters will be in Forks and then the rest will be over in the wizarding world. It's just where he starts his journey I suppose you could say._

**um...just making sure...it wasn't a Ron-polyjuiced Draco that Hermione was making out with right? **_No, that was actually Draco. For a moment I had considered making it Ron but it would have played out differently. If it was Ron he wouldn't have respected her like Draco did. And the Slytherin comment would have been nonexistant. Personally I loved that comment._

**you are gonna make Ginny and/or Ron's deaths gruesome right? **_I actually do have their fates decided but I'm not going to share at the moment. You'll understand why when it comes. It's worth the wait, I promise. _

**If I missed a question let me know. I'll try to post again in the next few days. Again, excuse how crappy this chapter kind of is. But keep in mind it's longer than the rest. **

**Have a great day guys.**

**Oh, and before I forget. I'm going to Newfoundland for vacation next month. I'll remind you guys before I go, but right now I'm looking for fanfics to read on the plane ride there. (I know there isn't internet on planes. I have an app on my ipod that allows me to bookmark pages and go back to them even when I'm not online.) So you should send me your favorites. I won't read all of them so you should let me know why you like the story so much, even if it's one of your own. And if it is one of your own I will try to review as much as I can.**

**Actually one more p.s. I meant to put these on my profile last time but I went to find them afterward and I found out I had forgotten to save them and when my computer crashed I lost them.**

**So I had to remake them and here they are. The blond girl in the second one is Katie. Enjoy. And In the first one Hermione and Ron are purposely looking the way they are. They're 'fading away' to show the fading of the life they had had together. If that makes sense. But I'm posting them in my profile right now. I was going to post them here but that didn't work.  
**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: HOLY CHEESE! I know. I haven't posted in forever and honestly, I feel like a failure for that. I've been trying to get online for a long time so I will provide an explanation. After I got back from Christmas in Newfoundland my mom and I started fighting. A lot. Like insanely a lot. So I moved out. For a while I was living with my friend and trying to find a job. Eventually my boyfriend and I decided we would move away together. To a completely different town. So for the past four months or so I've been working my butt off here. We don't have internet yet. I'm sitting in the nearest McDonalds to my house right now just so I can post this. But I should be getting internet in the next two weeks or so. Before you read this, I would like to apologize for the chapter below. It's not good. I just needed something to post so I could explain what's been going on. And I've been away from the story for so long that I had trouble getting back into the feel of it. So hopefully I'll be posting again soon. Hopefully people are still willing to follow along with the story. **

**Hope everyone is well. **

* * *

**Chapter 20: Moving On**

* * *

It hurt more than anything she could ever imagine. The pain was so great that there was only pain and nothing else. She felt herself take in a sharp breath but it hardly mattered. All that mattered was the pain inside of her head. It was almost as though there was a war going on right inside of her. Instinctively she brought her hands to her head and held onto it, just praying that it would stop. She thought that she heard a scream leave her body but she couldn't be sure. Whatever it was just made the ache worse. There was nothing else that she could do. She couldn't open her eyes; the thought didn't even cross her mind. Finally the end came and the pain slowly began to subside.

"Sorry about that m'dear." A familiar voice told her as she slowly let go of her head, the voice went onto further explain. "I couldn't fix the concussion until you were fully awake. There could have been some serious consequences."

When Hermione finally opened her eyes she saw that it was Madam Pomfrey standing at her bed side. For a second the bright light of the sunshine stung at her unsuspecting pupils. What was she doing in the hospital wing? She sat there for a moment pondering when memories of the event began to flood her mind. Once they began pouring in there was no stopping it. Perhaps it would have been better to remain ignorant to everything for a few moments because she wasn't ready for the realizations. She had no idea what had happened in the tower, she didn't know the outcome and she didn't know who had died. Someone had died, she heard it.

The girls eyes widened in fear and she looked at the nurse, feeling as though she were about to vomit. Was Draco okay? What about Harry? She should have warned him about what was going to happen in the tower. Even if Draco wasn't on the other side now it was bound to happen. Voldemort wasn't dense enough to play with only one piece. Chances were he had many others, just like Draco, wandering around the school playing at his games.

"What happened?" Hermione demanded, she couldn't wait for the news.

"I don't think I'm the one to tell you." The nurse said as she fiddled with potions at the bedside table. "You hit your head and you've been out for several days. It's best to just keep calm and stay free of stress until your head is all healed up." The woman added a hint of stern to her sympathetic voice.

The words weren't at all what Hermione wanted to hear. In fact they just angered her further. Did the woman really think that making her sit around, wondering if her friends were dead would make anything better? It was much better to just get it all out in the open. But would she be able to handle it if she was given the news that something had happened to Draco, Harry, or any of the other people she had come to love over the years? Which fate was worse?

A cough coming from the doorway pulled Hermione away from her spiralling thoughts. She was almost positive that her heart skipped a few beats when she saw Draco standing in the doorway. As the boy took several steps closer to her direction her heart began to hammer away. Relief was the strongest emotion, partly because he was okay and the rest of it was the knowledge that he would tell her everything that she needed to know.

"You're finally awake." He said in a pleased tone and took a seat on the side of her bed. He smiled for a moment and leaned down, capturing her lips for the first time in days.

Hermione was a little to overwhelmed to speak at first but she quickly fought it away. Anxiety was filling her chest and she needed to know. She needed to. Who had died? That was all she could think of. Was Neville okay? What had happened to the roof? Had she lost any of her other friends? Did Harry and Dumbledore make it back safely? Of course the next most important thing was who let the Death Eaters into the castle.  
"Draco-" She was going to plead with him to tell her but more footsteps echoed from the corridor just adjacent to the door.

Harry was the next person to walk through the door. His face lit up a bit when he saw her awake, but there was something else in his face that she knew meant not everything was okay. He was obviously more distressed by the events than Draco was. But Hermione knew that Harry generally took everything worse than other people. When someone died in any kind of battle he blamed himself. It was really hard on him.

"How are you feeling?" Harry asked as he stepped closer to the bed.

"I'm doing better. How are you?" She asked eagerly.

There was something different about the energy in the room. There didn't seem to be any tense feelings from Draco or Harry like there had been before. They didn't seem to be loathing at one another. It was weird, but it was nice. Did something happen when she was unconscious? Had the two put their issues behind them?

"I've been better." Harry said and shrugged, he looked over at Draco who gave a short not, almost as if the two were silently communicating.

"Tell me what happened." Hermione blurted out, unable to wait anymore.

"We figured you would ask right away." Draco told her.

"Well, where do we start?" Harry asked, but mostly to himself, "It turns out that Pansy Parkinson was the one who let them into the castle. She somehow got wind that Dumbledore and I were leaving the castle and took the opportunity to let them in. She led them through the Shrieking Shack and out the Whomping Willow. Neville got a little messed up by Bellatrix but McGonagall managed to keep him steady until they had a chance to get him up here to Madam Pomfrey, Bill got attacked by Greyback, his face is pretty scarred up but besides that he's doing fine. She doesn't reckon that he will be a werewolf or anything, his preference in meat may change a bit though." The boy chuckled, trying to lighten up the mood. So far, so good. Harry swallowed a little hard, "Dumbledore's dead." He managed to croak out, he was fighting back tears.  
"They ambushed them in the tower." Draco took over for Harry, giving the man a sympathetic glance. "They put up a Dark Mark to lure them into the astronomy tower. Snape killed him. After that it went by so fast. I killed Amycus Carrow..." His looked down with guilt in his eyes.

"Draco and I took on all of the Death Eaters in the tower together. We could hardly hold them off so we shot down that clock swinger thing. You know the one I mean, right Hermione? The big thing hanging down that swings back and forth? Well it made the floor collapse down and we fell through the floor."

"Slughorn changed sides, tried to take down Professor Sprout and the little Dennis kid saved her." Draco said, smiling a bit.

"Who died?" Hermione asked.

Harry went a little pale, "A few Death Eaters died, Dumbledore as I already mentioned, Cho Chang, and Padma Patil also lost their lives to a few Death Eaters." He swallowed hard.

Hermione's heart raced, she had never known the girls on a real level of friendship but she did know enough to know that they were good people. They weren't supposed to die. Cho had gone on to be a fantastic wizarding lawyer, with a big family and Padma and Pavati had opened up a Seer Shop together. They had been so happy, they were supposed to live. She couldn't help but feel like this was her fault. The young witch looked up at her best friend; she could see the pain in his eyes. She wasn't the only one placing blame; he blamed himself, too. And it must have been hard considering that only the year before hand he had had feelings for Cho. They had almost been an item, and he had spent two years completely infatuated with her. It was probably a shock to him.

"Harry, I'm so sorry." Hermione whispered, "But this isn't your fault."

"I'll give you two a minute." Draco said and got up from the bed. "I'll be just outside when you're ready."

Hermione watched as Draco left the room and then she turned back to Harry. He was a mess. He couldn't hide it from her. Three people that they knew had died. They had died right before their eyes. It probably hurt him more than she could have ever imagined. If she thought she felt guilty, then how did Harry feel? But worst of all Hermione knew that this wouldn't be as bad as the final battle when it finally came.

"Are you okay?" She asked in a soft voice.

Harry looked at the ground and shook his head. His face scrunched up, trying to fight back the tears but it was no use. Within moments he was crying. Hermione sat up straighter and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around the best friend she had ever had. She didn't know what to do, or what to say so she just sat there, holding him.

"Harry, I know that you won't believe me but this isn't your fault. It isn't always your fault. They were fighting to protect the school and protect what is right."

"But if it wasn't for me this wouldn't even be happening." Harry sobbed into her shoulder. It had been a long time since she had seen him cry like this.

"Harry if it wasn't for you so many more people would be dead. You are the one thing that is keeping Voldemort from having the power. If you hadn't stopped him all those years ago, things would be much worse now. There would be so many more people dead. They didn't deserve this, they didn't deserve to die but it's not your fault." Hermione promised. "We're going to fight. We're going to find the Horcruxes, and we're going to destroy him. We're going to make things better, and then no one will be dying for him anymore."

Harry didn't say anything else, the two just sat there in silence as Harry continued to cry on her shoulder. She knew that right now her words wouldn't change the fact that three people Harry cared about were dead, but in time she hoped the words would have some effect on him. But for now she would give him time to mourn Albus Dumbledore, Cho Chang and Padma Patil; three great people who she would never forget.

* * *

It was a sad Thursday morning at Hogwarts. The natural flow of the school seemed to come to a halt. At breakfast there was hardly any chatter among the students. The school as a hole seemed damage. It was hard to see how intertwined they really all were until a tragedy struck. Hermione had noticed this in her fourth year when Cedric Diggory had died. But this was different. The school had lost three members, and one of them was Dumbledore.

Dumbledore kind of... he just was Hogwarts. At least that was how Hermione had always felt. It just wasn't Hogwarts without him. Every time she had gotten ready to come back the first thing she would think about would be the opening feast; the feast in which Dumbledore would be conducting. It seemed harder for her this time around than the last time. Last time she hadn't quite appreciated the people or things in her life as much as she did now. She knew that Dumbledore had intended to die, but she still ached inside because of his loss.

"Have you seen Harry this morning?" Katie asked, looking around eagerly.

Hermione had figured they wouldn't be seeing him around right away. He had more access to the castle than most people, so when he wanted to be alone he just had a way of doing it.

"He probably just needs to be alone for a while." Hermione said sympathetically, "He and Dumbledore were really close."

As much as Harry would disagree when Rita Skeeter wrote her tell all about the old man, Hermione knew that it was true. He had always had Harry's best interest in mind. The day continued on with the same slow pace. It didn't feel like Hogwarts, it didn't have the same life to it anymore. Hermione didn't remember it from the last time. What was different this time? Before they knew it the funeral was upon them.

The sea of seats were filling up with up with people quickly. It was hard to believe that so many people cared about one man. It was then that Hermione realized that she shouldn't feel upset about Dumbledore dying. It had been his choice and it wasn't like he was missing out on a lot. He had lived a long and full life. He had been like one hundred and twenty, right? Over time he had become a dear part in so many peoples lives. It would have been an understatement to say that he lived a long and full life. He knew that it was his time to go and he greeted Death with open arms. It was one of the bravest things that anyone had ever done, just to protect Draco and Snape.

"Hermione?" Hermione looked up, it was Harry.

She quickly scooted over a seat and let him take hers. He slumped into the chair and rested his head on her shoulder. His eyes had a pinkish tinge and his face was grim. The two sat silently because Hermione knew that Harry needed a friend. She knew that whatever was going on in his head couldn't be fixed with words. He was blaming himself and if she tried to convince him otherwise he would probably just feel worse. At least this time around she knew that. So, she just sat there silently with him, knowing the only fix would be some time. Some time to grieve, miss and forgive himself.

"Everything's going to change." He whispered.

Hermione looked down at her friend and nodded. She more than anybody knew how much things were going to change. Things would never be the way they had been for the past few months, ever again. They would never just be carefree teenagers again, they would never have a year at Hogwarts like the one they had just had, and with Dumbledore dying it meant that they were going to take on a lot of responsibility.

"I don't know what to do, Hermione." Harry bent over and put his face in his hands, Hermione heard him inhale a long, shaky breath. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I feel like Dumbledore didn't tell me enough. I feel so in over my head and everybody is counting on me. And my parents, Sirius, all of those other innocent people and Dum.." But he choked on the words.

Hermione wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly, burrying her face into his shoulder.

"Harry, you listen to me, okay?" She demanded, "Last time you knew everything that you know now. Nothing more. And you won. You won, Harry. I know it's not fair and you of all people shouldn't be stuck with this. Nobody would blame you if you gave up but that isn't who you are. You're going to fight Harry and you are going to win and you shouldn't doubt yourself." Hermione jabbed him in the side with a demanding finger, "Don't you ever doubt yourself."

Harry chuckled, and nodded, his face still in his hands.

"I bet the only reason I got anywhere was because you were there, Hermione." He sniffed a bit and looked up at her.

"Well, you're going to have me around this time. So what difference should it make?"

Harry gave a half hearted smile, "You're still going to come with me?"

Hermione took his hands, "Of course, what would make you think otherwise."

"Well what about... you know. Draco?"

Hermione was mildly shocked but the use of first name but shrugged it off. "No guy would ever keep me from backing you up Harry."

Before their conversation could continue a few familiar faces came into view and the two stopped talking, knowing that this was going to be a conversation for later. They hadn't told Ron what they were planning to do because neither of them wanted him to come along. Last time it was right but he was to different now, Hermione saw to much of the other him just hiding under the skin and at the best of times Harry wanted to give him a good old right hook to the head.

Draco took a seat next to Hermione and the rest of their little group seemed to fall into place. Everybody scooted down a seat so that Katie could comfort Harry. At the beginning of the year nobody would have thought the group of people possible but there they were as close as ever. The Slytherin prat was dating one of the Golden Trio and a no name had managed to pry her way in with Harry. It was so much better than the first time around that it hardly seemed possible. She probably would have been a little to up tight the first time around to see it though.

The funeral went on for a good three hours. Everybody seemed to have a story, words to share and thanks to give. A lot of people looked up to Dumbledore. It definatly gave people a shake, knowing that he wasn't going to be around. Hermione could see that not everybody felt so safe anymore. What was going to happen now that Dumbledore was gone? Voldemort didn't stand a chance against him and that was what kept people safe. But now all that was left was Harry. Now all of that weight was going to be on Harry's shoulders.

When the funeral ended the group got up and left, leaving Dumbledore and all of their worries behind for just a little while. What they needed to do now was just move on a little bit before the next wave came along and dragged them out to sea. Things were going to take a turn for the worse, and all to soon. So right now they needed to just enjoy life a little bit, while they still had the chance.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Holy meow! I know. Two chapters in two days after so long? I can hardly believe it. Honestly, I thought I was going to have a lot of trouble getting back into this story but I'm beginning to think otherwise. I don't know if this is how it works for all of you other writers out there but for me, I hear the character in my head. They tell me the story and I put it into words. When I was writing the last chapter I was trying so hard to find Hermione's voice, or at least the Hermione from this story. I looked hard but all I got was this weak little voice from the back of my head. Last night I was up all night taking care of my boyfriend because he's really sick and I got like a half an hour of sleep, seriously. I was about to go to bed when out of nowhere BOOM! Her voice shows up. Exhausted as ever, I run for my lap top and it just flows right out like I never even took a break from this story to begin with. I finished it super quickly and then I hurried on over here to post if for you. So that's how dedicated I am to continuing the story. I'm actually really excited with how this chapter turned out because I can feel the flow of the story in it again. So hurray! I hope you like it.**

**I don't remember if I dedicated the last chapter to anybody. I know I used to be pretty big on that but I don't really have anybody in mind right now. So for the next chapter, which will hopefully be just as soon, I will look over the reviews and pick somebody to dedicate the chapter to. Hope everyone is well, glad to see that not everybody gave up on me! =]**

* * *

**Chapter 21: Life with the Lynchs**

* * *

Hermione's fingers drummed in a rhythmic beat on the desk in her bedroom. It was all she could do to keep herself from crying. She couldn't bare to glance around the room. It hurt to much. There was no guarantee that she was going to come out of this battle alive. She was more than sure that she was wanted dead by many people. She was almost beginning to doubt some of the people who she never thought could hurt her. Who was she supposed to trust anymore? The first time she had just gotten it over with, but this time it felt so much harder. Everything was moving too quickly. Everything had been going perfect. Absolutely perfect, and then she stopped tip toeing for one second and suddenly there's an avalanche.

A quick glance at the clock told Hermione that she needed to get a move on. She was already running late and her friends would be worried. Hopefully they would stay put though. She didn't want them to come and find her. She needed to be alone for this. It was already painful enough.

The young witch rose from the light wooded chair and walked toward the door of her childhood room. For a moment she stopped and turned back, allowing her eyes to gaze over the room one last time. Everything was in order of course. Every boob on the wall of bookshelves had a perfect place and they were all tightly squeezed together in the space. The purple walls still looked the same as when she was a young girl, and she didn't even feel ashamed of the fact that she still had the same butterfly bed sheets on her bed. No, it was perfect. This was exactly how Hermione wanted to remember it because the room reminded her of a better time. A time when she was young, innocent and it felt as though she had the world in her hands.

Without a word Hermione exited the room and with a slow pace she made her way down the hallway. She was taking extra time to really take one last look at everything. Last time she hadn't done this, but last time she had known they would win. Of course she couldn't have possibly known but she believed in them. She just knew they would win. This time she wasn't so unsure. She was uneasy about the fact that they had little to go on and Voldemort probably already knew what they were after. What if he had gone into her mind? What if he had stolen her memories? Well, he would have the wasn't even going to be there this time. She and Harry hadn't talked about it yet but it was probably just going to be the two of them. She didn't mind of course, but Ron had helped a lot. Well, not a lot but he had contributed.

Every picture on the walls struck her heart with pain. The memories had already been wiped away from them. She had done it in the morning when her parents had left for work. It was a Saturday, so they only worked until noon. They had arrived home just a short while ago, unaware of her presence. She would have gone down to see them sooner but she wanted to prolong the moment for as long as she could. She just wanted things to stay alright for a little while, she wanted a chance to breathe.

As Hermione made her way down he oak stair case a million memories passed through her mind. Like the time she fell down the stairs and broke her wrist, like when her grandfather died and her mother held her on the stairs as she wept, like Christmas with Draco and her parents. It had been so perfect. She had been so naive to think that it could last. In the back of her mind she knew that it couldn't, but she chose to ignore it. She was happy that she had though, it gave her more amazing memories to cherish. As she got to the second last stair it creaked. She had forgotten about the old floor board, it had no doubt alerted her parents of her presence. Her stomach sank knowing that it meant she would have to get it over with even more quickly now.

"Is somebody there?" Her father's uneasy voice came from the kitchen, followed by the scraping of his chair against the wooded floors.

"It's me, Dad." Hermione told him, doing everything in her power to keep her voice level.

"Pumpkin?" Her mother's chair followed the scraping of her father's and in the blink of an eye they were before her; confused, but beaming.

"Why aren't you at school?" Dan Granger asked her.

No doubt he was concerned. It was unlike Hermione to skip out on knew that school wasn't supposed to be out for another two weeks. But with the death of Dumbledore and the mess at Hogwarts, they had been let out early.

"Exams came early this year, it was a bit of a treat. They let us out a bit early. I didn't even know about it until last night. I couldn't get an owl to send you a message, so I just stayed at a friend's house last night and came over first thing this morning." She could hear the lie in her voice, but she hoped that her parents could not.

If they did hear it, they did nothing to show it because they were quickly offering her a seat in the living room, wanting to catch up. She didn't refuse. For all she knew this could be the last time she ever got to speak to her parents. It was kind of a big deal. Draco and Harry could wait a little longer. She needed more time. Surly they would understand. They of all people had to. So Hermione sat down with her parents and for a while they talked. They spoke of Draco, about her school year, about the following year and her parents excitedly made plans for the summer. They wanted to invite Draco back over, and do some family things. It warmed her heart to know how easily they accepted him as one of their own. Hermione wanted the conversation to be easy and light but instead it felt forced, and almost painful in a way. Her father was completely oblivious but Hermione could tell that her mother knew. She was giving her a look like they would talk about it later. Little did she know that they wouldn't get the chance.

After speaking with her parents for a good hour, Hermione knew that she couldn't put it off any longer. She excused herself, saying that she had to go to the washroom. Before she left the room she turned to her parents.

"Mom, Dad?" Her voice was hesitant. They looked over together, "I just want you to know that... You're the best parents I could have ever asked for. I really appreciate all that you've done for me. I love you guys." Hermione felt tears sting her eyes but she refused to let them fall, not until they looked away.

They both looked at her confused, but happy. They told her they loved her and she fled from the room. She went to the washroom and slumped to the floor. The girl forced back sobs and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself. When she was sure that she could handle it she made her way out of the washroom and quietly made her way back to the living room. Her parents had their backs to her, they never saw it coming. Hermione raised her wand and with the whisper of a charm she took them away. She took away who they were, what they knew and most of all she took away herself. They wouldn't remember her, not even if they tried.

* * *

"You took forever." Draco whispered as he wrapped his arms around her.

She instantly broke down into tears. It was to much. Her heart felt like it had been cut from her chest. It hurt to breathe. It hadn't been this bad last time. She knew that if she didn't calm down the contents of her stomach would soon be on the floor.

"What happened?" He rubbed her back softly and kissed the top of her head.

"Nothing. It's just hard." Hermione managed to get out.

Hermione hadn't seen Katie approach but she was holding out a small vile for her with a sympathetic look on her face. Hermione eyed the contents of it, waiting for some kind of explanation.

"Calming draught." Katie held it out further, "It'll help."

Hermione nodded and took the vile and in one swig down the contents. Instantly she felt a calm wash over her body and slowly the tears began to stop. The pain faded a little and she was able to breathe again. Why did everything have to be so much harder than the first time around? Was she more emotionally attached? It was probably the best explanation for what was going on.

"I'm really sorry, Hermione. I can't even imagine how hard that was for you." Katie pulled her away from Draco and into a tight hug.

Over Katie's shoulder she could see Harry staring at her with sad eyes. He blamed himself for the pain Hermione was feeling but he didn't understand that it would have happened anyway. They needed to be safe and as long as she was a part of the wizarding world, they would never be safe. Not if Voldemort was around. Slowly her memory was falling into place, nothing useful had come her way but anything was better than nothing at all. She knew that soon muggle borns would be brought into question and thrown into Azkaban if they could not prove that they were a part of a wizarding family. Her family could have been used against her.

When Katie let go of Hermione, she walked over and wrapped her arms around Harry.

"It's not your fault, Harry. They would have had to go into hiding, even if I wasn't involved with you." She told him, trying to lighten the burden he was carrying, if only a little.

All he did was nod. He understood, he knew it was true but he would probably keep blaming himself. She was about ready to blow up at him for all of the self blame, but she knew it wouldn't help. He took things to personally. But he would fix it. He couldn't fix the things that could happen, but he could fix the future. Something that didn't change when she went back in time was that Hermione believed in Harry. She knew that he could do it, even if Voldemort had the upperhand. Harry's heart was to pure, to good to just lose.

"I think we could all do with some cheering up." Katie said, motioning for all of the others to go inside.

"I couldn't agree more." Draco said, she could still see the worry on his face.

It was shocking to her that she had ever believed, even for a moment, that he didn't care about her. It was written all over him. It was easy to see now that she had worked past all of the hate that Ron had put into her. She was now able to look in the mirror and see more than the woman who wasn't good enough to love him. She was able to believe that maybe there was something good about her after all. And she was without a doubt able to believe that Draco cared about her, that he wanted to be with her. He had more than proved that. If he could befriend Harry for her sake, obviously there was some care involved.

* * *

"And then out of nowhere it swooped down and it's tooth just caught my arm!" Alex said with a little to much enthusiasm, "If I had been even an inch over I probably would have lost my arm."

He raised his sleeve and showed the five teenagers a big, pink scar that took up the length of his forearm. Hermione believed that he could have lost an arm, it wasn't a pretty scar.

Alex Lynch, Katie's older brother. It was almost shocking to Hermione how alike they were. They both had the same up beat enthusiasm and it wasn't hard to tell that he had her great outlook on life. He worked with Dragons in the United States but more recently transferred to a location in Ireland. It was a new base for breading Dragons and he was very excited about it. For about two hours we told them story after story about things that had happened. Obviously the life of a man working with Dragons was a little bit to exciting for her, and that was coming from the girl who helped Harry Potter take down the dark lord. But she could tell that he was very passionate about what he did and that was something that she liked to see. One day she hoped that she could have what he had, because she was pretty sure that her heart didn't quite lie with the Accidental Magical Reversal Squad.

"Is it a good paying job?" Luna asked, absolutely fascinated by Alex's stories.

"You would probably make more at some of those Ministry Jobs." Alex admitted, "But what can I say, I'm crazy enough to love the job."

"How exactly did you come to get involved with Dragons?" Draco was the one to ask this time.

"It was just kind of where life was headed, no matter what. Even when I was a kid I was just fascinated by the creatures. I wanted one as a pet." He smirked.

"He's not even kidding. For every birthday, Christmas, and whatever else he would ask our parents for a dragon." Katie confirmed.

"Of course all I got was some dragon toys and books about them but in the end it was kind of useful. I learned a lot and the books are actually what got me thinking about working with them. I know they're dangerous and vicious but when I look at a dragon I can't help but see the beauty in it, you know what I mean?"

"Is there anything that you really need to work with dragons?" Luna asked.

"One sure as hell set of balls. You've got to have the guts to work with them. Knowledge helps too, of course. But I think the most important thing is the courage. I don't really think anyone would stick around without a little passion either."

Hermione observed Alex quietly. She wasn't sure that she had ever really met someone like him before. He was like Katie, but at the same time he was just about as unique as Luna. She had never met someone with such a blunt personality. She could tell that he wasn't afraid to say anything, not the kind of person to beat around the bush. When they had arrived the night before he had started questioning Harry about what he was planning with Katie. He demanded in very detailed form that if Harry even put a toe out of line, or in the wrong direction there would be serious consequences. He even told Harry that he didn't care who he was, and Hermione could see how happy that made Harry. It was nice for him to be surrounded by people who saw beyond the scar. She had a feeling that Harry and Alex could end up good friends, even if their personalities weren't quite in the same spectrum.

She also noticed the similarities in Katie's and Alex's had the same blond hair, with just the smallest bit of brown hidden in the midst. She wore hers long and beautiful, while he chose to wear his short with a hint of shaggy. They shared the same brilliant green eyes. She could even see the resemblance in their other facial features. They shared the same slopped nose but his was just a bit bigger. Their smiles were even the same, only made a bit different by the different, unique personalities that were reflected in them. Their faces were almost the same shape as well, only made different by Katie's feminine features and high cheekbones. Something else that Hermione couldn't help but notice was how well they interacted together, how easily they seemed to flow around one another. It wasn't hard to tell that the two were close. In a way, Hermione almost envied Katie. She had always wanted a sibling. But as she looked over at Harry she then realized, she pretty much had one anyway.

* * *

Hermione's eyes felt heavy and it took a lot of effort not to let them droop together. Tonight they felt even heavier than usual, it was probably because of the added stress and all of the tears that she had let loose earlier in the day. Crying tended to drain her out. In truth, Alex really had helped. He was just the kind of person who was really easy to be around and it had made her day a lot better. For a while they were just six friends having a good time, living, laughing and just enjoying a few minutes of easy going peace. She knew that it wouldn't last forever but she could defiantly appreciate it.

Although Hermione was exhausted and could have fallen asleep on contact with a pillow, sleep wasn't quite around the corner yet. There were still other things that needed some taking care of. So for the second time that day, Hermione found herself sneaking around. She hated to do things behind her back but in this case she didn't really have a choice. She and Harry needed to talk about what was going to happen. They needed a plan and there were some things to discuss, such as their significant others. Obviously they needed to be alone to do it so they planned to meet outside just after midnight.

Hermione crept quietly down the dimly lit hallway, the only light was begin cast off from a single lamp in the living room at the far end of the hall. Without even having to think about it she knew that it would be Mr.. Lynch having a late night read. He had been doing so the night before and from what she had gathered, it was the most peaceful time for him. As she was passing she gave the man a short nod, he smiled in return. The house wasn't exactly what Hermione had been expecting, but now that she was there it made sense. It wasn't big, grand and fancy, but at the same time it wasn't plain and dainty. It fit the family. It was a simple four bedroom house, with nice furniture and it had a few interesting aspects. The art work was a little bit out of the ordinary, there was even a combination of muggle work and wizard work but the only thing Hermione could really think about the house was that it was really down to earth.

Katie and Alex got that from their parents. They were both unusually kind wizards, who seemed to always be smiling. She hadn't seen much of Mrs.. Lynch because she was a healer who worked more hours than she should, but when she was around Hermione could tell that she was a very caring person. Their father didn't do much, apparently he was a long retired Ministry worker, he had never specified a career. Most of his time was spent gardening in a green house behind their home and during the evenings he liked to read. Being in their house gave Hermione a sense of calm, like there was no rush to go anywhere in the world, like everything was going to be okay. It was really soothing.

"Harry?" Hermione whispered as she stepped outside into the back yard.

The half moon lit up the yard just enough for Hermione to see around her. The young summer breeze was warm and felt cozy as it caressed the skin felt bare by her summer attire. For a moment she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, knowing that the summer would not last forever. Winter would barge through in no time and they would be out camping for that. It was best to enjoy the warmth while it lasted.

The crunching of grass made her open her eyes, it took her a second to find him but her eyes did fall on Harry. His face was a little heavy, and it wasn't hard to tell that they were thinking along the same lines. It would be hard for either of them to be away from their partner but neither of them would feel good about putting them in danger. They had a choice. They didn't need to run around in the wild, chasing after things that they knew next to nothing about. They didn't need to starve or run for their lives. Hermione couldn't understand why all she was able to remember yet were the insignificant parts of what happened last time. She could hardly care about the weather, she wanted to know where the Horcruxes were and how they were going to destroy them.

"Have you thought about it at all?" Hermione whispered, hoping that their voices wouldn't carry to the house.

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about it." Harry admitted, "I hate to think about leaving her alone. I mean... not seeing her for so long. I don't even know how longs it's going to be."

"But you don't want her out there, suffering and in danger." Hermione finished off for him and they nodded together.

"So what are we going to do? Even if we did bring them, I wouldn't want to tell them what we were doing. And it's not just about Draco, I just don't think they should really be that involved. Not even Katie."

Again, Hermione understood. The less they knew the better. They less they knew the safer they would be. The less that someone would want to hurt them.

"I love her, Hermione." He's voice cracked ever so slightly. She could see the pain in his face, she could tell how hard this was for him.

"I know, Harry. I'm not stupid. I can see that." Hermione hugged him. "I'm so glad you're happy with her."

"They shouldn't come." Harry finally decided once the hug broke apart.

"I agree, we would be selfish if we asked them to tag along just because we didn't want to be without them." Hermione nodded and allowed her gaze to drift down to the greening grass below her worn out shoes.

"Don't we get a say in this?" Katie popped out from behind a near by shrub, Draco followed close behind.

Hermione and Harry glanced at one another quickly, not sure what to do about this.

"Katie, you don't underst-" Harry started but she cut him off.

"I know I don't understand! You won't tell me anything." She demanded and looked over at Draco, who took this as his cue to nod, "We really don't mind that you haven't told us anything. We get that it's a big deal and I don't expect you to tell us anything."

"We just want to help." Draco cut in, "Neither of us like the idea of you two wandering off on your own. What if something happened. What if I never got to see you again." Draco reached out and caressed Hermione's face softly.

"But it's going to be da-" Katie cut Harry off again.

"Dangerous, blah, blah, blah. I know. I get it. I understand that there are serious things happening, Harry. I really do. So does Draco. Whether you want to believe it or not we've been a part of this all year. We're like... a little family now. A pack. You can't just separate us now." Katie crossed her arms and stared Hermione and Harry down.

"We're not completely useless, just so you know." Draco added.

Before either Harry or Hermione could say anything Katie said, "So we're coming, end of story. It's our lives, we can do what we want with them. Honestly guys, you want us there and we want to come. There's no point in arguing."

Hermione and Harry glanced at one another again, knowing that there wasn't much that they could say. They had obviously lost this fight and it looked as though it was now going to be a journey for four.

* * *

**A/N:** **So what did you think? I wanna know!**


End file.
